
Pass -i~^^^ 4 . 



Book 



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GoipghtN". 



COP»«GHT DEPOSIT. 



The Rider on the White Horse 

and 

Other Prophecy Sermons 



Bf 



R. E. Neighbour 

u 

Author of Five Volumes of Sermons and Bible Studies, 
The Folly of Federation, Ecclesiastes, etc., etc. 



PUBLISHED BY 

UNION GOSPEL PRINTING CO., 
CLEVELAND, OHIO 



^^, 






COPYRIGHTED 

BY THE 

UNION GOSPEL PRINTING CO., 

CLEVELAND, OHIO 



AUG 3i 1921 

g)CI.A622586 
1v / 



A BRIEF STATEMENT 



With the exception of the two last, all 
of the sermons in this book were steno- 
graphically reported, and corrected by 
the speaker. 

Sermons taken down and printed, as 
these are, substantially as delivered, may 
lack the degree of conciseness, symmetry 
and language that the pew might ob- 
tain. 

However the spoken word, printed as 
spoken, contains the pulsing heart beats 
and life throbs of the preacher, which 
cannot be found in the more conserva- 
tive word of his pew. 

Therefore we make bold to send forth 
these messages on the printed page, just 
as we made bold to send them forth 
from the pulpit. And, we pray that God 
the Spirit may graciously use them to 
further the glory of our Lord and Sa- 
viour Jesus Christ. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

PAGE 

The Certainty of Christ!s Coming 7 

That Blessed Hope 31 

The Four Horse Riders 63 

The Rider on the White Horse 87 

Hath God Cast Away His People? HI 

Be Ye Also Readv 135 

The Ripened Harvest 165 

Visions of the Lamb 195 

The Darkness — The Lamp — The Dawning 

Day 223 

The Place of Prophecy in Practical Christianity 245 



THE CERTAINTY OF CHRIST'S 
COMING 



THE CERTAINTY OF CHRIST'S COMING 

If you will open your Bible to the 14th chapter of 
John, you will find the memorable words which 
our Lord spoke on the eve of His crucifixion. 

The last words of loved ones and friends are al- 
ways precious. How much more, then, these part- 
ing words of our Lord. 

"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe 
also in Me. 

"In My Father's House are many mansions: if it were not 
so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 

"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, 
and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may 
be also." 

You have heard the text. The theme is, The Cer- 
tainty of Our Lord's Return. Are we willing to put 
all our confidence and unshaken trust in the promise 
of our Lord? 

THE SETTING OF THE TEXT 

First of all, I want you to get the setting of the 
text. The 13th chapter of John locates the time 
and the place where these words were said. They 
were spoken in the "upper room" where Christ had 
met with His disciples by appointment. Let us read 
the opening words of John 13 : 

"Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew 
that His hour was come that He should depart out of this 
world unto the Father, having loved His own which were'in 
the world, He loved them unto the end." 

Christ knew that the time had come that He must 
depart out of this world and go unto the Father. 



10 PROPHECY SERMONS 

Thus as He sat with His disciples gathered around 
Him, He was sorrowful, — sorrowful for their sakes, 
sorrowful because He knew that in the midst there 
sat one who would betray Him with a kiss. And 
thus He said : 

*'He that eateth bread with Me hath lifted up his heel 
against Me. 

"Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to 
pass, ye may believe that I am He. 

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomso- 
ever I send, receiveth Me; and he that receiveth Me, re- 
ceiveth Him that sent Me. 

"When Jesus had thus said, He was troubled in spirit, and 
testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of 
you shall betray Me." 

Then the story of the "upper room" proceeds, un- 
til in verse 33, Christ says : 

"Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall 
seek Me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye can- 
not come; so now I say to you." 

Then verse 36 : 

"Simon Peter said unto Him, Lord, whither goest Thou? 
Jesus answered him. Whither I go, thou canst not follow Me 
now; but thou shalt follow Me afterwards." 

As Christ was talking to them about His going 
away, He saw the shadow passing over their faces ; 
He knew the burden that lay on their spirit, and 
so He said, chapter 14 :l-3 : 

"Let not your heart be troubled * *. If I go I will come 
again, and receive you unto Myself." 

A little farther on Christ said unto them: 

"But now I go My way to Him that sent Me; and none of 
you asketh Me, Whither goest Thou? 

"But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath 
filled your heart. 

"Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you 
that I go away." 



THE CERTAINTY OF CHRIST^S COMING 11 

And then He added : 

"A little while, and ye shall not see Me; and again, a little 
while, and ye shall see Me, because I go to the Father. 

"Then said some of His disciples among themselves. What 
is this that He saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not 
see Me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see Me; and, 
Because I go to the Father? 

"They said therefore, What is this that He saith, A little 
while? We cannot tell what He saith." 

Here is Christ's response. He saw their hearts, 
He read their spirit, and He replied : 

"A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her 
hour is come; but as soon as she is delivered of the child, 
she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is 
born unto the world. 

"Ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, 
and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh 
from you." 

Oh ! how precious were these Divine words of our 
Lord! I am going away, but I am coming back 
again, and when I come I will receive you unto My- 
self. If you keep My commandments you shall have 
joy, a joy that no man shall take away from you. 

AT THE MOUNT OF OLIVES 

The second incident that I want to bring before 
you, is one which follows the resurrection of our 
Lord. He had met with the disciples, by appoint- 
ment, at the Mount of Olives, and He was talking to 
them about His going away and about His sending 
unto them the Holy Spirit. After He had given 
command that they should carry His Gospel to the 
farthermost parts of the world, and while they still 
watched Him, He was taken up out of their sight 
into Heaven. As He went up and the cloud received 
Him, they looked steadfastly toward Heaven, and, 



12 PKOPHECY SEEMONS 

behold, ''two men stood by them in white appaTel ; 
which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye 
gazing up into Heaven ? This same Jesus, which is 
taken up from you into Heaven, shall so come in 
like manner as ye have seen Him go into Heaven'* 
(Acts i:ii). 

Hear me ! We love messages from our dear ones 
as they are leaving us; we hang upon their state- 
ments ; we listen to every sound of their voice ; but 
none of us has ever had an experience like this. 

Our Lord, after He had gone, sent back a mes- 
sage. Perhaps, as He was disappearing in the 
clouds. He looked down, and saw the upturned faces 
of His disciples. He knew of what they were think- 
ing; He understood the throes of their disappoint- 
ment, their wonder and amazement, therefore. He 
quickly called two shining ones and said, "Go down, 
tell My disciples that I will come again; inspire 
them, lift them up, encourage them ; tell them that I 
will come again just as I have gone; I will come 
again in like manner as they have seen Me go into 
Heaven." 

We have now considered two instances in which 
our Lord gave promise of His return — once, just be- 
fore He died, and again after His death and resur- 
rection, as He was ascending into Heaven. 

Now, beloved, let me ask you some questions: 

Do you believe that the Lord will return literally, 
corporeally, visibly and physically, to this earth ? Do 
you accept His promise? 

Do you believe that He will come in clouds of 
Heaven? 

Do you believe that His feet will stand in that 
day on the Mount of Olives, which is before Jeru- 
salem to the east? 

Do you believe that our Lord will come? 



THE CERTAINTY OF CHRIST^S COMING 13 

He came once, the first time ; cannot He come the 
second time? He came once, to wear a crown of 
thorns ; cannot He come and wear a crown of glory? 
He moved among men once, circumscribed because 
he had a body of flesh and of bones and of blood. 
Can He not come again uncircumscribed, with His 
resurrection body, a body of bones and of flesh, but 
not of blood? He came once and began His work, 
can He not come again and complete it? He said, 
"If I go, I will come again," is His promise worthy 
of your confidence? 

I have some different statements for you to-night 
in proof of the second coming of our Lord, and the 
first statement is this : 

I. THE LITERAL FULFILLMENT OF FIRST 
COMING PROPHECIES MAKES NECES- 
SARY THE CERTAIN AND LITERAL FUL- 
FILLMENT OF SECOND COMING PROPH- 
ECIES. 

Have I made that clear? Let me say it again: 
The literal fulfillment of First Coming prophecies 
makes necessary the literal and certain fulfillment 
of the Second Coming prophecies. 

I want to bring before you some passages of 
Scripture which give both the first and second com- 
ings of Christ. In these Scriptures you will see that 
the first part has been fulfilled, and you must con- 
cede that the second part shall be literally fulfilled. 
Let us remember this : When the first half of the 
promises were written, they were prophecy. They 
are history now; they were prophecies when first 
revealed, just as much as the second half were 



14 PEOPHECY SERMONS 

prophecies. Thus, if one half of the prophecies have 
met fulfillment, certainly our God is able to fulfil the 
second half. 

1. Our first passage is Isaiah 9:6: 

"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given." 

How many of you believe that this prophecy was 
literally fulfilled in Bethlehem of Judea? Think you 
that the Baby was born? Think you that Jesus 
Christ was born and laid in the manger? Certainly, 
you reply. Then let us proceed : 

"And He shall be great." 

He was great. 
"And He shall be called the Son of the Highest." 

Three times did God speak out of the blue sky 
and say : "This is My beloved Son." Three times ! 
And He was called the Son of the Highest. How 
many of you believe that literally, actually? Of 
course you do. 

Now, back to Isaiah. I side-tracked to quote a 
passage away over in Luke. Now, back again. 
"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given." 

You believe that literally. Amen! So do I. 

"And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The 
Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." 

Do you believe He was literally born? Yes. Do 
you believe this further statement : 
"And the government shall be upon His shoulder"? 

Do you believe that, 

"Of the increase of His government and peace there shall 
be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, 
to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice, 
from henceforth, even for ever"? 



THE CERTAINTY OF CHRIST^S COMING 15 

Do you believe this? Behold how God affirms it — 
"The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this." 

Does that mean that the zeal of the Lord of Hosts 
will perform His birth alone? Or, the fact that He 
would be a Son given, alone? Or does it mean that 
the whole prophecy shall be performed? Is God 
not able to perform His promise! Shall Jesus not 
be called the Prince of Peace? Shall not the gov- 
ernment be upon His shoulder? Shall He not sit 
upon the throne of David? Certainly He shall ! The 
literal fulfillment of the first half of the promise 
makes absolutely necessary the literal fulfillment of 
the second half. Am I right? (Cries of ''Yes/') 
Then do not deny the second coming of your Lord. 

2. Our second passage is Zechariah 9:9, 10: 

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter 
of Jerusalem; behold, thy King cometh unto thee; He is 
just and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and 
upon a colt the foal of an ass." 

How many of you dear friends believe that these 
words were literally fulfilled? That Jesus did ride 
on that colt the foal of an ass? How many of you 
believe it? All right. You concede a literal fulfill- 
ment. Now let me continue the prophecy: 

"And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the 
horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off; 
and He shall speak peace unto the heathen ; and His dominion 
shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the 
ends of the earth." 

How many of you believe that, since the first part 
of the prophecy has been literally fulfilled the second 
part must be? I suppose some of the highbrows 
who lived back along in those old days, some of the 
Judaistic higher critics, would have said: "Now, 



16 PROPHECY SERMONS 

dear brethren and sisters, this riding on an ass is 
impossible ; of course, you must not take this literal- 
ly. You must not believe that the Great King, the 
Son of God, would ride upon an actual colt. That 
would be foolish. What it means is something like 
this : The ass with its great, big ears is a picture of 
meekness, and it means that the Great King, Who is 
going to come, will be humble; that He is meek, 
He will not lift Himself up in pride." 

Yet, in spite of the Old Testament highbrows the 
prophecy meant that Jesus Christ would come rid- 
ing on an ass. The prophecy was literally fulfilled 
— therefore the other and immediately succeeding 
prophecy will be literally fulfilled. Christ will actu- 
ally speak peace to the nations ; His dominion shall 
be from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends 
of the earth. This prophecy has not yet been ful- 
filled, no one gainsays that, — you know then that it 
must await fulfillment. God has spoken, and God 
cannot lie. 

3. Our third passage is Zechariah 11 :12, 13 : 

"And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my 
price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price 
thirty pieces of silver. 

"And the Lord said unto me. Cast it unto the potter: a 
goodly price that I was priced at of them. And I took the 
thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house 
of the Lord." 

How many of you believe that was literally ful- 
filled? — that Judas sold his Lord for thirty pieces of 
silver ; that he took the money, and rushing into the 
Temple, threw it down before the rulers, and said, 
**I have betrayed innocent blood ;" that with the 
money they bought a potter's field? You believe it 
— of course you do ! Yet, that prophecy was writ- 



THE CEETAINTY OF CHRIST^S COMING 17 

ten five hundred years before the Lord was cruci- 
fied. 

Now listen to this other statement, the 12th chap- 
ter and 10th verse. 

"And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the 
inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplica- 
tions; and they shall look upon Me Whom they have pierced, 
and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only 
son, and shall be in bitterness for Him." 

How many of you then see that if the first 
prophecy met a certainty in its fulfillment, that this 
second prophecy will meet a like fulfillment? The 
Jews who crucified Christ and nailed Him to the 
Cross have never looked upon Him since. After 
the resurrection, our Lord never showed Himself 
to the Jewish nation, or to the Gentile world. He 
showed Himself to His disciples and followers, at 
different times, and on one occasion to above five 
hundred brethren at once; but never did He mani- 
fest Himself save to His own children. 

Thus, the Prophet wrote: ''They shall look upon 
Me Whom they have pierced." When Christ comes 
a second time He will pour out His Spirit upon 
the House of David, and they shall mourn for 
Him ; they shall look upon Him Whom they have 
pierced ; they shall receive Him as an only son. One 
of them shall say unto Him, "What are these 
wounds in Thine hands?" and He shall say, "Those 
with which I was wounded in the house of my 
friends." 

4. Our fourth Scripture is Zechariah 13:7,8: 

"Awake, O sword, against My shepherd, and against the 
man that is My fellow, saith the Lord of Hosts; smite the 
shepherd and the sheep shall be scattered; and I will turn 
Mine hand upon the little ones. And I will bring the third part 
through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined * * 



18 PEOPHECY SEEMONS 

and they shall call on My name, and I will hear them : I will 
say, It is My people : and they shall say, the Lord is My 
God." 

Every word from this wonderful passage was, at 
one time prophecy. Five hundred years after the 
words were recorded the first part of the prophecy 
was Hterally fulfilled. Christ, the Good Shepherd 
was smitten and His disciples, the sheep, forsook 
Him and fled. 

Surely the second part of the passage must be as 
literally fulfilled as was the first part. That which 
awaits fulfillment is backed by the sure Word of 
Prophecy. Israel shall yet pass through the fire of 
Jacob's trouble; she will come forth purified and 
made white. In that day she will be restored to 
favor — God will call her "My people;'' she will call 
God, "The Lord my God." 

5. Our fifth passage is in Psalm 22. 

This Psalm opens with the words : "My God, My 
God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" It is generally 
known as the Psalm of the Cross. There seems eve- 
ry strong reason to believe that Christ repeated this 
Psalm, verbatim, while hanging on Calvary. 

The Psalm takes up, in turn, the words of the 
Cross, the reason for the Cross, the reproach of the 
Cross, the physical anguish of the Cross, etc. 

The literal fulfillment of the Psalm from verse 1 
through 21 is conceded by all. 

At verse 22 the resurrection is announced and then 
beginning with verse 27 we read : — 

"And all the ends of the earth shall remember and turn 
unto the Lord ; and all the kindreds of the nations shall wor- 
ship before Thee. For the Kingdom is the Lord's: and He 
is the governor among the nations." 

It is consummate folly to spiritualize a passage 



THE CERTAINTY OF CHRIST'S COMING 19 

like this one, particularly when so many other Scrip- 
tures establish its Hteral fulfillment. 

Oh, brethren, that 22d Psalm so graphically sets 
forth the agonies of Calvary and so graciously sets 
forth the glories of the coming reign, that no one 
can dare to believe the one and reject the other! 

6. Our sixth passage is Psalm 69 : 

"They that hate Me without a cause are more than the hairs 
of My head: they that would destroy Me, being Mine enemies, 
are mighty." 

"Because for Thy sake I have borne reproach: shame hath 
covered My face. 

"I am become a stranger unto My brethren, and an alien 
unto My mother's children. 

"For the zeal of Thine House hath eaten Me up: the re- 
proaches of them that reproached Thee are fallen upon Me." 

"Reproach hath broken My heart, and I am full of heavi- 
ness : and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none ; 
and for comforters, but I found none. 

"They gave Me also gall for My meat! and in My thirst 
they gave Me vinegar to drink." 

Oh ! how it stirs our hearts as we see the Word of 
God written a thousand years before Calvary thus 
positively, definitely prophesied the agony of our 
precious Lord. And you believe it, don't you? 

Did some one pass Him the gall to drink and did 
He refuse it? Do you believe that? 

How about this statement then — we read it in the 
same chapter, verse 35 : 

"For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah; 
that they may dwell there, and have it in possession. 

"The seed also of His servants shall inherit it; and they that 
love His name shall dwell therein." 

Certainly. If one is true, the other must be true. 

7. Our seventh Scripture is Psalm 102:3-6. 

"My bones are burned as an hearth. 



20 PEOPHECY SEEMONS 

"My heart is smitten, and withered like grass ; 

"My bones cleave to My skin. 

"I am like a pelican of the wilderness." 

Hear the Cross of Calvary talking now : 

"I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the housetop. 
"Mine enemies reproach Me all the day; and they that are 
mad against Me are sworn against Me." 

In this prophecy you see the anguish of Christ, 
as His persecutors gathered about Him, don't you? 

How about this further prophecy recorded in the 
same chapter, verses 16 to 19 : 

"When the Lord shall build up Zion, He shall appear in 
His glory. 

"He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise 
their prayer. 

"This shall be written for the generation to come; and the 
people which shall be created shall praise the Lord. 

"For He hath looked down from the height of His sanc- 
tuary; from Heaven did the Lord behold the earth." 

Oh! brethren, do we believe? Yes. Oh! that 
everybody in the city of Elyria, everybody who ac- 
cepts the Cross of Christ might accept the Crown; 
that they who believe in the First Coming might, 
with the same sweet trust, believe in the Second. 
Why not? Why not? 

8. Our eighth passage is from Isaiah 63 :53 and 64. 

Now let me first read the 63d chapter of the Book 
of Isaiah, the opening verses : 

"Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments 
from Bozrah? this that is glorious in His apparel, travelling in 
the greatness of His strength? I that speak in righteousness, 
mighty to save." 

Do you believe that? 

In conjunction with that, let me read Isaiah S3: 
3-5,10: 



THE CEETAINTY OF CHEIST'S COMING 21 

**He is despised and rejected of men; a Man of sorrows, 
and acquainted with grief: 

"Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: 

"But He was wounded for our transgressions. He was 
bruised for our iniquities." 

"Thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin." 

Brethren, what do we call the 53d chapter of 
Isaiah? The chapter of the Cross. Right! Eleven 
times in that chapter the doctrine of the substitu- 
tionary work of Christ is set forth. Therefore, if 
you take all of that literally, about the First Com- 
ing of Christ — and you do — then, what about this 
Scripture in Isaiah 63 ? 

"Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments 
from Bozrah? this that is glorious in His apparel, travelling in 
the greatness of His strength"? 

That verse expresses a question Israel will ask 
as our Lord returns. Here is the Lord's answer: 
"I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save." 

Then Israel asks: 

"Wherefore art Thou red in Thine apparel and Thy gar- 
ments like him that treadeth in the winefat?" 

And here is the answer: 

"I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people 
there was none with Me." 

Again Israel says : 

"Return for Thy servants* sake, the tribes of Thine inheri- 
tance. * * 

"Our adversaries have torn down Thy sanctuary. 

"We are Thine." 

"Oh, that Thou wouldest rend the heavens, that Thou would- 
est come down." 

Oh! brethren, you believe that Jesus Christ died 
upon the Cross. Why don't you believe that He will 
come down the clouds and save His people Israel? 



22 PROPHECY SERMONS 

Why don't you believe that they will look upon Him 
Whom they pierced, and mourn for Him as for an 
only son? 

Just one other passage, and we will have complet- 
ed our first main division. 

9. Our ninth passage is Micah 5:2: 

"Biit thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little 
among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come 
forth." 

How many of you believe that Jesus Christ came 
out of Bethlehem? There is not even a comma, a 
dash, a semi-colon; certainly no period, as the 
Prophet continues: 

**Out of thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be 
ruler in Israel." 

Oh ! He must reign. He is to be a ruler in Israel. 
Just so. 

II. THE LITERAL FULFILLMENT OF THE 
TYPES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT CON- 
CERNING THE FIRST COMING MAKE AB- 
SOLUTELY NECESSARY THE LITERAL 
FULFILLMENT OF THE TYPES OF THE 
SECOND COMING. 

By the grace of God, everyone who believes in the 
First Coming, should believe in the Second Coming 
of Christ. That is what I am praying for: That 
every man, every woman, every child shall go out of 
here to-night convinced once and forever that Jesus 
Christ is coming again. 

To this end, let us observe that the literal fulfill- 
ment of the types of the First Coming makes nec- 
essary the literal fulfillment of the types of the 
Second Coming. 



THE CERTAINTY OF CHRIST^S COMING 23 

1. Let me give you Joseph as a type. How many 
have ever read about Joseph and how he was hated 
of his brethren? They were jealous of him. You 
recall that they all went about to slay him; they 
put him down in a pit ; through the intercession of 
one of the brothers they took him out and sold him 
to the Ishmaelites. Joseph was in prison in Egypt 
for two years. When I tell you of this, everybody 
concedes that Joseph was a type of Jesus Christ in 
His rejection — in His death and in His resurrection. 
Let us continue the type: Dark days came to the 
earth, days of famine ; the children of Jacob came up 
— ^Joseph's brothers — to buy corn. You remember 
the scene, don't you, how Joseph gave them a feast ; 
how he received them and welcomed them to his 
heart and to his love? If the first part is the type 
of the Christ and the Cross, this latter is the type 
of Christ and the Throne. Christ will reveal Him- 
self to His people, the Jews; they will weep and 
mourn for Him. As Joseph was enthroned in Egypt, 
so shall Christ be King of kings and Lord of lords 
over the whole world. They shall come to Him for 
His blessing, and to worship the King. 

2. Let me bring you the David type. I see David 
with his little sling going out against the mighty 
Goliath. Watch him as he swings it around his 
head, and casts a stone into the forehead of Goliath. 
David then goes forth and puts his foot on the body 
of the mighty Goliath, and with Goliath's sword 
cuts off his head as the frightened Philistines hie 
away in mad retreat. What do you think of that 
picture ? 

I was with Paul Rader in prayer. Let me say one 
thing about that mighty preacher. If you could get 



24 PROPHECY SERMONS 

alone with him in prayer you would know some- 
thing about his power in the pulpit. I was with 
Paul Rader in prayer. As we knelt, side by side, he 
said, *'Oh, Lord Jesus, Thou art our David. Oh, 
Lord Jesus, Thou hast taken Thy sling and hast met 
our enemy and now hast cast him down. Oh, 
Christ, our David, come now to our help to-night." 
Thus did Christ meet and vanquish satan. The type 
is plain. Let us follow David again. 

When David's son, Absalom, raised an insurrec- 
tion against him, David went down by the brook 
Kedron, and, as he went, he wept. Our Lord Jesus 
passed over the same brook Kedron, as He went 
into the Garden of Gethsemane; as He went de- 
spised and rejected of His own, and with the rulers 
planning His death. As David went Shimei cursed 
him; as Christ went to the Cross He was reviled 
and mocked and derided. 

The type is too plain to demand extended illu- 
mination. But the scene soon changes : David's son 
Absalom was dead in battle and the cry was made : 
"Behold, Absalom is dead in battle. And why say 
ye not a word about the bringing back of the King." 

If David with the sling shot, and David passing 
the brook, Kedron, is the type of Christ on the 
Cross victorious over satan and Christ despised and 
rejected of men, why is not David raised on the 
throne, the type of the reigning King Jesus? The 
fulfillment of one part of the type makes necessary 
the fulfillment of the other. 

3. Let me present Jonah as a type. When I tell 
you that Jonah was three days and three nights in 
the whale's belly, you say, "Mr. Neighbour, I know 
that that is the type of Jesus Christ three days and 



THE CERTAINTY OF CHEIST'S COMING 25 

three nights in the heart of the earth." Splendid. 
When I tell you that Jonah was vomited out, by 
the big fish, you say, that ''that is the type of Jesus 
Christ raised from the dead." Let me go back, and 
read in the 2d chapter of Jonah's prayer. You have, 
at once, the most graphic picture of the anguish of 
Calvary's Cross that there is in the Word of God. 
Hear Jonah as he says : 

"Out of the belly of hell cried I, and Thou heardest my 
voice. 

"For Thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the 
seas; and the floods compassed me about: all Thy billows and 
Thy waves passed over me. 

"Then I said, I am cast out of Thy sight: * * 

"The waters compassed me about, even to the soul; the 
depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about 
my head." 

Oh ! everybody says, "Yes, we see the type of our 
Lord's anguish of soul as He passed round and 
round the cycle of His suffering on the Cross." But 
is that all you see ? Don't you also see in this story 
of the run-a-way Prophet the type of disobedient 
Israel? Don't you see that Jonah thrown overboard, 
is Israel thrown out into the nations? Don't you 
see that Jonah swallowed and undigested, is Israel 
swallowed and undigested? Don't you see that 
Jonah vomited out upon the dry land, is Israel re- 
stored to her own land, Palestine? Don't you see 
that as Jonah went to the great Gentile city, Nine- 
veh, so Israel will go as God's ambassador to the 
whole Gentile world? The fulfillment of the type 
of the one, always makes necessary the fulfillment 
of the type of the other. Many other types are 
written but these three must suffice. 

Now my third main division : 



26 PKOPHECY SEEMONS 

III. THE LORD'S COMING IS THE PROMISE 
OF THE PROPHETS AND THEREFORE 
WE MUST ACCEPT IT, OR DENY THE 
WORD OF GOD— THE WORD OF PROPHE- 
CY MADE MORE SURE. 

Here are some Scriptures put down in one of my 
little books, that I culled out for to-night. I want 
to read them to save time; they reveal what the 
Prophets say: 

Isaiah says: 

"Unto us a Son is given * *. Of the increase of His govern- 
ment and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of 
David." 

Jeremiah says : 

"I will raise unto David a righteous branch, and a King shall 
reign and prosper and shall execute judgment/' 

Ezekiel says : 

"And I will make them one nation in the land upon the 
mountain of Israel; and one King shall be king to them all." 

Daniel says: 

"I saw * * one like the Son of Man come with the clouds of 
Heaven; * * and there was given Him dominion, and glory, 
and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should 
serve Him." 

Hosea says : 

"The children of Israel shall abide many days without a 
king * *: Afterwards shall the children of Israel return, and 
seek the Lord their God, and David, their king; and shall 
fear the Lord and His goodness in the latter days." 

Joel says : 

"So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in 
Zion * * for the Lord dwelleth in Zion." 



THE CERTAINTY OF CHRIST^S COMING 27 

Amos says: 

"In that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David that 
is fallen * * and I will build it as in the days of old." 

Obadiah says: 

"Upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance * * and the Kingdom 
shall be the Lord's." 

Micah says: 

"In the last days * * the Lord shall reign over them on 
Mount Zion." 

Zephaniah says: 

"The King of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee : 
* * The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty." 

Zechariah says: 
"And the Lord shall be King over the whole earth." 

These quotations are only a drop in the bucket. 
I preached a week this summer at Gull Lake, an 
hour a day, on nothing in the world but what the 
Prophets say about the Kingdom. I gave three 
days' study to what David says about Christ and 
His Kingdom, and if you don't believe in the cer- 
tainty of the Lord's return and reign, I will tell 
you what to do : Take all your Prophetic Scriptures, 
and throw them away. Why? Because Christ 
must come, or else the prophecies of the Bible are 
not the Word of God — "The more sure Word of 
Prophecy." 

My fourth and last point is this : 



28 PEOPHECY SEEMONS 

IV. CHRIST MUST ASSUREDLY COME, BE- 
CAUSE HIS COMING WAS THE DELIGHT 
OF THE DISCIPLES. 

This is seen by reading the Epistles. 
In Romans we read : 

"There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn 
away ungodHness from Jacob." 

In Philippians: 

"We look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ; V/ho 
shall change our vile body." 

In Thessalonians : 

"The Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a 
shout." 

In Timothy: 
"Those who love His appearing." 

In Titus : 

"Looking for that Blessed Hope." 

In Peter: 
"The power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." 

In James : 

"The coming of the Lord draweth nigh." 

In John : 

"When He shall appear we shall be like Him." 

In Jude: 
"The presence of His glory." 

"In Revelation : 

"Behold He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see 
Him." 

If any one in this city or in any other city denies 



THE CERTAINTY OF CHRIST'S COMING 29 

the certainty of the coming of Christ, he has no 
heart or mind to believe the Scriptures : 

"Impatient heart be still, 
What though He tarries long 
What though the triumph song 
Is long delayed — 
You have His promise sure, 
And it is all secure. 
Impatient heart be still, be still." 

I want to say to you, and I say it without any 
apology, that my Lord Jesus Christ is as certain 
to come down to this world according to every 
specified statement of Prophetic Scripture as to- 
morrow's sun is sure to rise. Christ said : "If I go 
I will come again." Simply because, in these last 
days, scoffers have arisen who say, "Where is the 
promise of His coming," we are not going to be 
moved from the Blessed Hope. Our hope is builded 
on the impregnable rock of the Prophetic Scriptures. 
"We believe, therefore have we spoken." 

If to-morrow some one says that Mr. Neighbour 
is a little "cracked," preaching on the Second Com- 
ing of Christ, you tell him that Mr. Neighbour is 
preaching the Word of God. The Lord's return is 
a most precious doctrine, it is the one thing we all 
need to know. To-night I have done no more than 
to lay a few foundation stones. 

By the grace of God, before this winter is over, 
we are going down in to Prophetic Truth. Next 
Sunday night I am going to show that the Second 
Coming of Christ is the glory doctrine of the 
Church, the Blessed Hope, the lamp that shines in 
a dark place. It is the joy note of the Bible. There 
is not a pessimistic note about it. It is all hope, it is 
all joy, it is full of song and of hallelujah to the 
people who know their God. 



THAT BLESSED HOPE 



THAT BLESSED HOPE 

To-night our text is found in Titus 2:11, 12, 13: 

"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath ap- 
peared to all men; 

'Teaching us, that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, 
we should live soberly, righteously and Godly, in this present 
world ; 

"Looking for that Blessed Hope, and the glorious appearing 
of the great Goci and our Saviour Jesus Christ." 

Now let us read the text this way : "The grace of 

God teaches us to live looking." Looking for what? 

"Looking for that Blessed Hope, and the glorious appearing 
of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." 

I tried to sit down and fathom the depth of that 
one precious word, Hope. I tried to think of a syn- 
onym that might, perhaps, express to you the full- 
ness of its meaning. I decided that no one word 
would cover the full significance of "Hope." 

HOPE DEFINED 

Hope suggests Expectancy. That is: What a 
man hath, he cannot hope to obtain. Why do we 
ardently wait? Why expect? Why hope? It is be- 
cause there is something lying ahead — something 
which we anticipate. 

But again: The word Hope has in it more than 
Expectancy. It is a reliable expectation. You are 
expecting something which is sure to come to pass. 

Still again, this word Hope carries with it the 
expression of your need, and the assured supplying 
of that need. 

For instance : Hope says it is dark, but the light 



34 PEOPHECY SERMONS 

will surely shine. Hope would not anticipate light, 
if it were not for the present darkness. And, if the 
light is not sure to shine, Hope would be no more 
than a mirage, a hollow mockery. 

Hope says we have no city, but we look for a city 
whose builder and maker is God. Hope then is the 
answer of a yearning heart. Hope anticipates a city, 
because the city of earth is so disappointing, so far 
short of our need. 

Hope says, I have sorrow, but I shall rejoice. 
Hope does not only anticipate the coming joy, but 
it anticipates it in the recognition of present suf- 
fering and sorrow. 

Hope looks on to the coming glory because it 
recognizes that for the present time we have anguish 
and bitterness of soul. 

Hope suggests one suffering in the night, tossing 
on a bed of sickness, and eagerly anticipating the 
dawning of the morning. 

Why should we be buoyed and strengthened by 
Hope — the Blessed Hope of the Lord's return? If 
everything we have is satisfactory; if the present 
fills every yearning of our hearts, why do we hope 
for another day? Hope is born and Hope is an 
anchor to the soul, when there is a longing that 
nothing around can satisfy. It is only when we 
write over all this world the word "failure," that we 
cling to the Blessed Hope. 

SATAN HATES THE BLESSED HOPE 

There is no doctrine in the Word of God that 
satan despises and hates more than the doctrine of 
the Blessed Hope of the coming of our Lord. 

Let me read to you II Corinthians 4:4: 



THAT BLESSED HOPE 35 

"The god of this world hath blinded the minds of them 
which believe not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of 
Christ" * * 

Now, I am going to change it without doing any 
violence to the original. Listen : 

"The god of this age hath blinded the minds of the unbe- 
lieving lest the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ 
should dawn in upon you, and convert you." 

Two things immediately come to mind: 

1. That the supreme message of the Bible is the 
Gospel of the Glory. 

2. That the great, comforting, life-changing, 
evangelizing, soul-winning message of the Gospel 
is the Glorious Hope of Christ's Return. 

No wonder satan hates it. Satan would have 
men pin their faith to the things down here. He 
would tell you that, apart from Jesus Christ, you 
can bring in the thousand years. He would turn 
your eyes inward and not outward ; downward and 
not upward; self-ward and not Christ-ward. He 
would have you attempt every conceivable world 
method to establish a kingdom apart from the King. 

Remember, that satan's chief strategy is to blind 
your eyes to coming things. Christ Jesus is not ask- 
ing us to make this a better world ; He is calling us 
to another world which is better. 

Satan, and his ministers, are seeking through the 
social gospel to inaugurate a world regime, which 
he will name the millennium; a regime established 
entirely apart from the Cross of Christ, from the 
resurrection of Christ, and from the returning of 
Christ. Satan would have you utterly ignore Jesus 
Christ. God have pity on the ministers who are 



36 PEOPHECY SERMONS 

failing to lift up their voices and to proclaim the 

Blessed Hope of the Second Coming of Christ. In 

their failure to preach this Gospel they are pleasing 

the devil wonderfully well. 

Now with these introductory warning words 1 

bring to you the message on the Blessed Hope. Let 

me pause just long enough to read a little poem, 1 

wrote as I sat in my study, a little while ago. 

What darkness shrouds our path around 
What gloominess, what greeds abound 
Without the Blessed Hope. 

What is it lightens all our way? 

The harbinger of coming day — 

It is the Blessed Hope. 

Then go, send forth the blest refrain 
That Christ is coming back to reign 
Proclaim the Blessed Hope. 

Let all who mourn and all who fear 
Lift up their heads, the coming's near, 
O Glorious, Blessed Hope. 

We have five things to consider to-night. 

I. THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST IS 
THE HOPE OF THE CHURCH. 

II. THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST IS 
THE HOPE OF THE SIN-CURSED WORLD. 

III. THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST IS 
THE HOPE OF THE PHYSICAL EARTH. 

IV. THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST IS 
THE HOPE OF HIS DOWN-TRODDEN PEO- 
PLE, ISRAEL. 

V. THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST IS 
THE HOPE OF OUR LORD HIMSELF. 



THAT BLESSED HOPE 37 

I. THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST IS 
THE HOPE OF THE CHURCH. 

1. It is the Hope of the Church because it brings 
us immortality and incorruptibility. Turn to I Co- 
rinthians 15:53, 54: 

"For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this 
mortal must put on immortality. 

"So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, 
and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be 
brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed 
up in victory." 

When we stop to consider these two groupings: 
"corruption and mortal," and "incorruption and im- 
mortality," we ask: "What is the difference?" The 
reply is simple : The four words "mortal" and "cor- 
ruptible," "immortal" and "incorruptible" all refer 
to the body — never to the soul. If you want to 
know why the words "corruptible" and "incorrupt- 
ible" are used over against "mortal" and "immortal," 
let me read the verses which precede, verses 51, 52: 

"Behold I shew you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, 
but we shall all — (the living and the dead, that is, those who 
are sleeping and those who are awake) — be changed, 

"In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump ; 
for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised in- 
corruptible and we shall be changed." 

So that explains the meaning of the words "cor- 
ruptible" and "incorruption." It refers to the bod- 
ies of the dead. 

"This mortal shall put on immortality" refers to 
the bodies of the living. "For we shall all be 
changed," both the living, who have mortal bodies, 
and the dead, who have bodies of corruption; we 
shall alike be changed. The mortal body shall be- 
come immortal, the corruptible body shall become 



38 PROPHECY SERMONS 

incorruptible. In a moment it is incorruptible, in 
the twinkling of an eye it is immortal. 

And so I thank God for the Second Coming of 
Christ. That coming to the Church and to all the 
saints who have died in Christ in the ages past, 
means a new body. Our citizenship is in Heaven, 
from whence we look for the Lord Jesus Christ, 
Who shall change our vile bodies — that is, the bod- 
ies of our humiliation — and fashion them like unto 
the body of His glory. This is our first reason for 
the Lord's coming as a Blessed Hope. 

2. It is the Hope of the Church, in the second 
place, because it brings us a new sphere of service. 

Open your Bibles and turn to I Corinthians 4:8: 

"Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings 
without us : and I would to God ye did reign, that we also 
might reign with you." 

The Apostle Paul spoke these words in satire. 
The children of God at Corinth seemed proud. They 
were boasting of their greatness, their might and 
their power. Paul says that he was a spectacle un- 
to the world, to angels and to men. He said to the 
Corinthians, *' Ye are wise, but we are fools ; ye are 
strong, but we are weak; ye are honored, but we are 
despised ;" and therefore he spake in satire when he 
said, "Ye are rich," *'you think that you are great;" 
and then he added this remark: **I would that ye 
did reign, that we might reign with you." 

What did the Apostle Paul mean? He meant 
when Jesus Christ comes a second time that the 
dead in Christ shall be raised and changed and that 
they shall live with Christ and reign with Christ a 
thousand years. Therefore I say that the Second 
Coming of Christ to the Church means the Blessed 



THAT BLESSED HOPE 39 

Hope of enlarged service. Oh ! I thank God for 
what we can do down here. We would love to be a 
far greater blessing to the world than we are; we 
would love to swing our swath far wider as we cut 
the way for God. But, listen : We are circumscribed 
because of the sins of men and because of the power 
of an ever-working satan. But wait till He comes. 
Oh! when He comes and He reigns we shall reign 
with Him. His servants shall see His face and they 
shall serve Him. Don't you think for a moment 
that in the Second Coming of Christ the Christian 
in his work and labor and toil of love and service 
will be curtailed and cut down. Not at all. We shall 
be marvelously enlarged in our service for Jesus 
Christ. And so it is the Blessed Hope because it 
brings enlarged service. 

3. Again it is the Blessed Hope of the Church 
because it brings us perfected knowledge. "For now 
we see through a glass darkly, but then we shall see 
face to face. Now I know in part, but then shall I 
know even as also I am known.'* When He comes 
He will make all the crooked things straight: He 
will explain the dark things and make them plain. 
We shall know. We shall understand. 

We are going to understand this precious Word a 
bit better. Oh ! there are lots of pages and chapters 
in this wonderful Book that we have never sounded, 
never fathomed, never grasped. Oh ! what marvels 
of beauty will lie here when we stand before our 
Lord! What a Blessed Hope! Because when we 
go out to meet our Lord He will open up this Word 
of God and we shall see the depths of its riches. It 
will appear to us the rhythmic cadence of another 
world, as He opens up its glories. 



40 PROPHECY SERMONS 

Then we are going to understand our disappoint- 
ments and our sorrows. We will know why hopes 
were crushed when scarce begun ; why these little 
glass houses we builded were dashed to pieces ; why 
some were set aside in their youth. 

When I think of Robert Murray McCheyne (a 
man who in his thirtieth year was known through- 
out the world as the great Scottish preacher) sud- 
denly cut down in the very flower of his manhood 
and the very power of his ministry, we cannot help 
but say, Why? When I think of Charles H. Spur- 
geon, a man who was only in his prime, the pastor of 
the great London Tabernacle, whose messages were 
being sent out every week all over the world, a man 
voluminous in his writings, a man marvelous in his 
messages ; when we think of his dying in his very 
prime and passing away, we cannot understand it. 
When we think of Dwight L. Moody, a matchless 
minister of Christ, a man who traveled from conti- 
nent to continent preaching with evangelistic fervor, 
power and success, we wonder why Dwight L. 
Moody passed away so young? 

''God knows the way, He holds the key. 
He guides us with unerring hand, 
Some day with tearless eyes, we'll see. 
And, up in Heaven, we'll understand." 

And so, the Second Coming of Christ means to us 
the Blessed Hope, because it is the revealing of all 
the wonderful purposes and plans of God to us. We 
see as He sees. We know as He knows. We un- 
derstand as He understands. 

4. It is the Blessed Hope of the Church because 
it will bring to us both the union and reimion with 
the departed saints. I say union, suggestive of the 
fact that all the departed dead shall have fellowship. 



THAT BLESSED HOPE 41 

I say reunion, because I would circumscribe the 
word to those whom we knew and loved and who 
are gone before. We shall have fellowship with 
them. Isn't it the Blessed Hope? 

In I Thessalonians 4, we read these words : "To- 
gether with them." Beautiful! 

"And the dead in Christ shall rise first; 
"Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up 
TOGETHER WITH THEM.*' 

Oh! Blessed Hope! They will come from the 
East and from the West, from the North and from 
the South, and they will sit down with Abraham, 
with Isaac and with Jacob in the Kingdom of God. 

At the Mount of Transfiguration Elijah was there, 
and Moses was there; and yet Peter, James and 
John, who had gone up into the mountain with 
Christ, needed no introduction. Instantly they rec- 
ognized them, and Peter said, *'It is good for us to 
be here; and let us make three tabernacles: One 
for Thee, and one for Moses and one for Elias." 
Hallelujah ! There will be no introductions over 
there. We are friends, and we are brothers, and 
when we are together up yonder what blessed fellow- 
ship will be ours. 

5. Again it is the Blessed Hope of the Church 
because it brings to the Church her rewards. Paul 
said : 

"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I 
have kept the faith : 

^'Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteous- 
ness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at 
that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that 
love His appearing.'* 

**We must all stand before the judgment seat of 
Christ ; that every one may receive the things done 



42* PEOPHECY SERMONS 

in the body, whether we have done good or bad." 

"Behold I come quickly ; and My reward is with Me, 

to give every man according as his work shall be." 

Oh ! we love to have Him come, because, when He 

comes down the clouds He brings His rewards with 

Him, to the Church and to the saints of old. And 

then it will be blessed, more blessed, thrice blessed, 

because it will bring to us our Lord and we shall 

be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air, 

and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Jesus Christ 

will, of course, be the central figure of that glorious 

hour. When the dead in Christ arise and the 

living together with them are caught up, there will 

be but one form in the distance that we shall see — 

the descending form of our Lord. He will come 

with His holy angels around Him ; He will come in 

all His glorious might; He will come the center of 

the holy throng. As we ascend, we will shout His 

praise, and we shall be forever with the Lord. 

"Oh the dear ones in their glory, 
How they beckon us to come, 
And the parting at the river, we recall; 
To the blessed land of Eden, 
They will sing our welcome home; 
But, we want to see our Saviour first of all." 

Yes, we want to see our Saviour first of all. We 
shall see Him. We shall know Him. 

And so when you turn to the Book of Revelation 
you find a throne. I want to describe that for you, 
that beautiful throne set forth in the 4th and 5th 
and then again in the 7th chapters of Revelation. 
Just a few descriptive words of that beautiful scene : 

"And behold a throne was set in Heaven, and One sat on 
the throne * * 
"And round about the throne * * were four and twenty 



THAT BLESSED HOPE 43 

seats : and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders 
sitting." 

That is one group. Here is another : 

"And I saw before the throne four living creatures full of 
eyes before and behind." 

Here is another group in the next chapter: 

"And I saw, and I heard the voice of many angels round 
about the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and 
the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and 
thousands of thousands." 

There you have Christ on the throne; next the 
four living ones; next the four and twenty elders; 
next a great multitude of angels ; and when you turn 
to the 7th chapter you have a great multitude, which 
no man could number, out of all nations, and kin- 
dreds, and peoples, and tongues, and they stand be- 
fore the throne of God and praise Him day and 
night. What a marvelous group ! Why doesn't 
some artist paint it! He would have something to 
paint, wouldn't he? The most beautiful, the most 
graphic picture in the Word of God, is the groups 
that cluster around that throne with Jesus Christ 
in the midst. And so I say, brethren, we shall see 
Him, we shall magnify His name and praise His 
grace. 

II. THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST IS 
THE HOPE OF THE SIN-CURSED EARTH. 

Now, I did not dwell so long on that first point; 
you have heard it so much. It has been before you 
ever since the hope of Christ's return gripped your 
soul. But here is something that you have not all 
thought about : The great world of sin, the Christ- 
rejecting world, the world full of the throes of sor- 



44 PROPHECY SERMONS 

row, of suffering, of anguish, of vice and crime. 
What about the world? 

Well, you say, "I think the Second Coming of 
Christ to the great world of sin is anything but a 
Blessed Hope." Wait a moment. There is no other 
hope for the downtrodden world but Christ's return. 
But, you ask. Does not the Bible say that the Second 
Coming of Christ is, to the world, a certain fearful 
looking for of judgment and of fiery indignation, 
which shall devour the adversaries?" Yes. There- 
fore it is absolutely necessary for a few moments 
that we linger, that we may understand the two 
stages of Christ's coming. 

He is going to come to the Church and take us up 
and out of this world — catch us up into the air and 
change our vile bodies. That phase of the coming 
of Christ to the earth means judgment, for, follow- 
ing the rapture of the saints, there shall be upon the 
earth tribulation such as there was not since man 
was upon the earth, so great. It will be an hour of 
blackness, of darkness, of gloominess, of density — 
night — and the earth will reap the judgment of her 
sins — the four horse riders of which I am to speak 
next Sunday night, the white horse, and the red 
horse, the black horse and the pale horse will come 
forth with their riders. 

But, you ask, how then is the Second Coming of 
Christ the hope of the sin-cursed world? I will tell 
you. Because after she has tasted the cup of the 
fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God, He is going 
to come to the Mount of Olives, and when He comes 
down and His saints come with Him and He is ac- 
companied with His holy angels and His feet stand 
upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusa- 



THAT BLESSED HOPE 45 

lem to the East, then, after His judgments. He will 
become the Hope of the whole world. I want you 
to get that. 

Sometimes people say, Brother Neighbour, don't 
ask for Christ's Second Coming before my boy gets 
saved, or my girl comes into the light. 

If Christ came to-night and caught away His own 
and if your son or your daughter were left behind, 
they would even in the tribulation period have an 
opportunity to be saved. Do we not read of a great 
multitude from every kindred, tongue and tribe: 
"These are they who have come up out of the great 
tribulation and have washed their robes and made 
them white in the Blood of the Lamb"? — Yes^ many 
myriads will be saved during those dark days. 

But again, should your son or daughter be left 
to pass through the tribulation and should they sur- 
vive those years of earth judgments and pass on in- 
to the millennial reign, they will then be living in 
the day of most blessed evangelism ever known to 
Adam's sinful race. 

So the Lord's Second Coming, while a coming 
of judgment to the ungodly, is also a coming of 
grace to those of earth who will believe. 

Remember that the Lord, preparing for judgment, 
had a rainbow about His throne. 

CHRIST THE PEACE=BRINQER 

L It is the Hope of the sin-cursed world, because 
the world is downtrodden. There can be no peace, 
until Christ comes as the Peace-bringer. Let me 
turn to the Book of Isaiah, 11th chapter, verses 3 
and 4, which speaks of the reign of Christ. 

"And shall make Him of quick understanding in the fear 



46 PEOPHECY SERMONS 

of the Lord: and He shall not judge after the sight of His 
eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears ; 

"But with righteousness shall He judge the poor and re- 
prove with equity for the meek of the earth; and He shall 
smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the 
breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked." 

And so the time is coming when He shall hear 
the cry of the poor. To-day we are living with cap- 
ital and labor facing each other in deadly combat. 
We don't know what a day, what an hour may bring 
forth. There has never been a period in the world's 
history darker than the one in which we are now 
living. 

SOCIALISM'S AIM 

What is Socialism? Socialism is the cry of the 
masses against the classes. Socialism demands 
"communism," an equal distribution of wealth. To- 
day labor unions are not in formation, they are 
formed. Millions of working men in the United 
States of every craft are members of those unions. 
It is becoming unpopular to buy or to sell goods 
which do not bear the union label. This is more 
true in some sections of the country than in others. 

Well, you ask : "Are you, as a minister of the Gos- 
pel of Jesus Christ, not sympathetic with the labor 
unions?" Listen. I am entirely in sympathy with 
the laboring men. My heart goes out to those who 
toil. My heart bleeds for those who are weary and 
oppressed. There is one little poem that I think 
sometimes expresses world conditions which have 
brought about these labor unions. Let me give it 



THAT BLESSED HOPE 47 

to you. It is a little song you have often heard, 
rewritten : 

"Let us gather up the sunbeams, 
Lying all about our path; 
Make a "trust" on wheat and roses, 
Give the poor the thorns and chaff; 
Let us find our sweetest comfort, 
Hording bounties for to-day. 
So the poor will have scant pleasure, 
And two prices have to pay." 

"We'll capture e'en the wind-god. 
And confine him in a cage. 
Then, through our patent process. 
We the atmosphere will gauge; 
Thus we'll squeeze our little brother, 
With his lungs he tries to fill, 
Put a meter on his windpipe. 
And present our little bill." 

"We will syndicate the starlight. 
And monopolize the moon; 
Put a royalty on rest days, 
A proprietary noon; 
For right-of-way, through ocean spray, 
We'll charge, just what it's worth; 
We'll put our stakes around the lakes, 
In fact, we'll own the earth." 

Now, that is the way some one has expressed the 
monopoly, the collusion, the combination of the rich, 
against the working man. The labor union is their 
answer to that cry. They say, "We will combine in 
order that w:e may stand for our rights and demand 
our just wage." Yes, I understand all of that. J 
just want to say one word to Christians and not 
to the outside world. I don't blame them for their 
labor unions. But to you who are Christians let 
me say a word. Listen: 

In the last days the rich men will come into 
power, they will live delicately, deliciously upon the 



48 PEOPHECY SEKMONS 

earth, nourishing their hearts as in a day of slaugh- 
ter. The laborers whose wage is kept back by fraud 
will cry out unto the Lord. Wherefore, brethren, 
join the unions? No — not that. The Scriptures put 
it thus: *'Be patient, therefore, brethren, unto the 
Coming of the Lord." 

We are living in an age when the poor are down- 
trodden. When Christ comes He is the Blessed 
Hope of this old earth, because He says, "I will 
hear the cry of the poor, and I will deliver him.'* 
Every man will then sit under his own vine and fig 
tree. There will be just distribution of goods. 
Every man will sit not under his neighbor's vine and 
fig tree, not under a rented vine and fig tree, but 
under his own vine and fig tree. **And My people 
shall long enjoy the works of their hands." 

So I say the Second Coming of Christ is the 
Blessed Hope, yea the only hope of the sin-cursed 
world. 

2. It is the Hope of the war-stricken world. Let 
me read the 46th Psalm, 6th, 7th, 8th verses: 

"The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: He uttered 
His voice, the earth melted. 

"The Lord of Hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our 
refuge. 

"Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations He 
hath made in the earth/' 

And then what? Listen: 
"He maketh wars to cease." 

In Israel? No. In Palestine? No. In Europe? 
No. 

"He maketh wars to cease to the ends of the earth; He 
breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder: He burneth 
the chariot in the fire. 



THAT BLESSED HOPE 49 

*'Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among 
the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth." 

The whole earth will have peace when Jesus 
Christ, the Prince of Peace, comes. It is the Blessed 
Hope. 

During the world war I stood in Macon, Ga., and 
saw a great procession. First of all, a large group 
of older women came walking down the street car- 
rying a banner, which read : "The Mothers of the 
Soldiers at the Front." Following them came an- 
other large group, carrying a banner upon which 
was written, *'The Sisters of the Soldiers at the Front," 
and following them, a third group, *'The Wives of 
the Soldiers at the Front." I watched them passing, 
group after group. My wife was at my side and I 
turned and looked into her tear-stained face. There 
was no one laughing, there were no jests, or joking. 
Instead of singing there were sighs ; instead of mirth 
there were tears. Oh ! Sherman well said that 
"War is hell." And, to-day, lying over there with 
the poppies are seven million lads, the flower of the 
earth, who gave their lives in those battles. 

The darkness of that day has passed, but another 
darker day is coming. Ahead of us lies another war. 
There may be a temporary peace ; yet it will be fol- 
lowed by the greatest war the world has ever 
known. That war will demand, at its close, six 
months to bury the bodies of the slain. During that 
war blood will be to the bridles' bits. 

But when Christ comes He will speak peace to the 
nations and they will learn war no more. So Christ's 
return is the Blessed Hope of a war-stricken earth. 

3. It is the Hope of a world satan-driven, and 



50 PROPHECY SERMONS 

demon-deceived. Let me read you from Revelation 
20: 

"And I saw an angel come down from Heaven, having the 
key of the bottomless. pit and a great chain in his hand. 

"And he had hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is 
the devil and satan, and bound him a thousand years. 

"And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and 
set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no 
more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled." 

Just now we have plenty of Spiritism, don't we?— 
Spiritualism, some folks call it, — Spiritism. Plenty 
of it. Why? Because we have a loose devil and 
because we have loose demons in the air. But when 
Christ comes He will rid the air of these satanic 
forces. Satan shall be bound and put in the pit of 
the abyss. To-day the world lies in the lap of the 
devil. While the earth is the Lord's, yet satan is 
a usurper; he is the one who energizes the sons of 
disobedience. The meaning of his name is **an ad- 
versary.'' Satan, however, when Christ comes, will 
be put down and the world of man will be delivered 
from his ravages. So again we speak of Christ's 
coming as the Blessed Hope. 

4. It is the Hope of the world's darkened pop- 
ulace. There has never been an era when it was so 
difficult to win sinners for Christ as to-day. I 
am only in my prime, yet I can remember when 
hundreds were saved to where five or ten are saved 
to-day. Never has the church had such difficulty 
in kindling the old-time revival fire and the old-time 
evangelistic revivals, as to-day. There are very few 
people being saved in this country, comparatively 
speaking. Oh! brethren, the world is rushing to 
hell. The churches are empty, the movies are full ; 
the prayer meetings deserted, the theaters teeming 



THAT BLESSED HOPE 51 

with the populace. The professing church itself has 
lost its soul-winning fervor, and has become con- 
formed to the world in its testimony. 

A few months ago, about all you heard in some 
pulpits was war. Now it is "reform," or "the new 
brotherhood," or some other humanitarian theme. 
The anniversary of the "Mayflower" is approaching. 
All over this country pulpits will be discussing this 
theme. My mother's folk came over in the "May- 
flower," so I might preach on that myself, you 
know. Really I think there is some excuse for it, 
since it is a National Thanksgiving Day. Yet, it 
all depends on the way it is treated. I am wonder- 
ing if Thursday, will find one paramount note sound- 
ed concerning the "Mayflower"? What note? The 
building up of a new country? No, that is not what 
they came for. What note ? Simply this : The estab- 
lishing of freedom in the worship of God. I won- 
der if on Thursday, the one dominant note in the 
Thanksgiving addresses will be the religious fervor 
of our forefathers, and the evident sincerity with 
which they worshiped God? Will the lesson be 
drawn that we, too, should trust the Lord Jesus and 
serve Him with an undivided heart? That is what 
we need. 

There has never been an era in the history of the 
world when it was so hard to win men and women 
for God as now. The devil has turned loose every 
world allurement to hinder. I think that the mov- 
ing picture show is the most damnable institution 
that has ever struck America. You say, "Go slow, 
Mr. Preacher, I attend the movies." That is the 
trouble. I am not discussing their immorality. 
Even if they were good, even if they did not have 



52 PEOPHECY SEEMONS 

murders and drinking scenes and elopement scenes ; 
even if they did not picture impurities and immor- 
alities, the moving picture show is greatly used of 
the devil. For what ? To keep you away from more 
sober, wholesome things. That is it. 

How hard the devil is working to keep you from 
Jesus Christ ! But the devil is to be chained ; Christ 
is coming to reign. Then what is going to happen? 
Let me give you a key text : 

"Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the 
Lord is risen upon thee. 

"For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross 
darkness the people; but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and 
His glory shall be seen upon thee. 

"And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to 
the brightness of thy rising." 

Oh ! the day is coming to the world when one re- 
vival after another will break out. Salvation will 
girdle the globe. Read the 2d chapter of Joel. It 
gives you the prophecy of the descent of the Holy 
Ghost, and it says, *'Your sons and your daughters 
shall prophesy, your old men shall see visions," etc. 
While these words met partial fulfillment at Pente- 
cost, the larger fulfillment of the Holy Spirit's 
blessing will be when Christ comes again. 

I want you to multiply the results of Pentecost at 
Jerusalem by ten thousand such Pentecostal bless- 
ings all over the world. You will begin to see 
what God is going to do for the nations when He 
comes. 

When you think of the Apostle Paul, who hated 
the Gentiles and the Gentiles' Christ, suddenly 
stricken down on the Damascus road ; when you see 
his sight restored by Ananias; when you see him 
baptized and sent to bear the Lord's name before 



THAT BLESSED HOPE 53 

the Gentiles, then you see, in type, a picture of Is- 
rael's conversion. When Jesus Christ comes again 
there will be not one Paul, but many thousands of 
Pauls who will go from city to city, from state to 
state, from nation to nation ; they will encompass 
the world with the story of Christ. Then the whole 
world will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as 
the waters cover the sea. 

What is the Second Coming of Christ? We say 
it again : It is the Blessed Hope of the world's dark- 
ened populace. 

O world grown pitiless and grim, 
O world o'erwhelmed with crime and sin, 
O world who knew not, owned not Him, 
Christ Jesus, Lord of all. 

To thee, O world, the Lord of grace 
Will come forth, shortly, from His place 
And mercies bring to Adam*s race 
Then, crown Him Lord of all — 

Lift up your heads, the Lord is near, 
He comes to still thy heart of fear 
To fill the world with peace and cheer. 
The Blessed Lord of all. 

IIL THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST IS 
THE BLESSED HOPE OF THE PHYSICAL 
EARTH. 

I think you are all aware that the whole creation 

is full of groans and travail. Everything is tuned to 

a minor key. The winds whine and moan. The 

zephyrs may be spoken of as "silent" and "soft'* and 

"soothing;" but even they are always restless and 

shiftless and filled with forebodings. 

With mighty force the winds are blown. 
The winds, are zephyrs larger grown. 
They shriek and howl, they cry and moan; 
What havoc in their path is sown ! 



54 PEOPHECY SERMONS 

The bark of a dog is out of tune. The cry of 
nature is a pitiful moan. In Romans 8:18 to 23, I 
read these words : 

"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are 
not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be re- 
vealed to us. 

"For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for 
the manifestation of the sons of God. 

"For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, 
but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope. 

"Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from 
the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the 
children of God. 

"For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travail- 
eth in pain together until now. 

"And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the 
first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within our- 
selves." 

If the sons of God are saying, "Come, Lord Jesus, 
quickly come!" may not creation echo the call, 
*Xord Jesus, quickly come"? 

Let me read you some of the things that are 
going to happen to the physical earth and its crea- 
tures when the Lord comes: 

"The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard 
shall lie down with the kid; and the calf, and the young lion, 
and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. 

"And the cow and the bear shall feed: their young ones 
shall lie down together." 

These pictures of deliverance to the animal world 
await the advent of our Lord. 

"The wilderness, and the solitary place, shall be glad for 
them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. 

"It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and 
singing." 

"In the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in 
the desert. 

"And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the 



THAT BLESSED HOPE 55 

thirsty land springs of water; in the habitation of dragons 
where each lay, shall be grass, with reeds and rushes." 

"I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the 
midst of the valleys : I will make the wilderness a pool of 
water, and the dry land springs of water. 

"I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, 
and the myrtle and the olive tree." 

The Lord will rebuild the waste places of the 
earth. He will make her gardens like Eden. And 
then, He says, the plowman will overtake the reap- 
er, and the sower of seed, he that gathereth the 
grain. 

Oh! praise the Lord, the time is coming when 
the physical earth shall be delivered. That is the 
only hope of the natural world. Why don't you 
say a word, then, about the bringing back of Jesus 
Christ, the Hope of all the world? 

IV. THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST IS 
THE HOPE OF POOR, DOWN-TRODDEN 
ISRAEL. 

I am not going to enlarge on this, for there is no 
time. I simply must bid you good-night. So, I will 
only give you the outline of what I had in my mind, 
with a few Scriptures, and then we will go. 

L The Second Coming of Christ will bring to 
Israel the forgiveness of her sins. 

Hear the inspired word of Jeremiah, when he 
says: 

"I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and 
with the house of Judah (the Pre-millennialist knows that 
there are twelve tribes included here) * * after those days 
saith the Lord, and I will put My Law in their inward parts. 
And write it in their hearts, 
And will be their God, 



56 PKOPHECY SERMONS 

And they shall be My people, * * * * 

For they shall know Me — 

For I will forgive their iniquity, 

And I will remember their sin no more." 

The Post-millennialist who would give this pass- 
age a past fulfillment would do well to read Hebrews 
8:8-12. 

Hear the inspired word of Ezekiel, when, describ- 
ing the restoration of the twelve tribes, (which res- 
toration has never taken place), he says: 

"A new heart also will I give you, 
And a new spirit will I put within you; 
And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, 
And I will give you a heart of flesh. 
And I will put My Spirit within you. 
And cause you to walk in My statutes, 
And ye shall keep My judgments, and do them, 
And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; 
And ye shall be My people, and I will be your God.'* 

Hear the inspired word of Hosea, when he says : 

"Afterward shall the children return and seek the Lord 
their God and David their King, and shall fear the Lord and 
His goodness in the latter days." 

Hear the inspired word of Joel, when he says: 

''But Judah shall dwell forever. 
And Jerusalem from generation to generation, 
For I will cleanse their blood. 
That I have not cleansed; 
For the Lord dwelleth in Zion." 

Hear the inspired word of Zephaniah, when he 
says : 

'The King of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of 
thee, * * In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, fear thou 
not ; and to Zion * * the Lord thy God in the midst of thee 
is mighty. He will save." 

Hear the inspired word of Zechariah, when in 



THAT BLESSED HOPE 57 

connection with the coming forth of "My Servant 
the Branch/' He says concerning Israel : 

"I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day." And 
when He says : "I will pour upon the house of David and upon 
the inhabitants of Jerusalem: 

The Spirit of grace and supplication; 

And they shall look upon Me Whom they pierced, 

And they shall mourn for Him 

As one mourneth for his only son ; 

And shall be in bitterness for Him, 

As one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. 

In that day there shall be a fountain open 

To the house of David, 

And to the inhabitants of Jerusalem 

For sin and uncleanliness." 

Hear the inspired word of the Apostle Paul. 

"For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant oi 
this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; 
that blindness in part hath happened to Israel, until the ful- 
ness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be 
saved; as it is written. There shall come out of Zion the De- 
liverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. For this 
is My covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins." 

Surely the Lord's return brings to Israel the for- 
giveness of her sins. 

2. The Second Coming of Christ will bring to 
Israel the end of her wanderings and her restora- 
tion to her land. 

It is true that "when the Most High divided to 
the nations their inheritance; when He separated 
the sons of Adam, He set the bounds of the peo- 
ples according to the number of the children of Is- 
rael." He well knows that the '^bounds of their 
habitations" decreed unto Israel the land of Canaan 
for an everlasting possession. Unbelievers may for 
the present hold the titles to much of Canaan ; doubt- 
ing Post-millennialists may believe that Israel has 
forever lost her possessions ; but he who accepts the 



58 PEOPHECY SEEMONS 

Word of God knows that God in His eternal pur- 
pose has reserved unto Israel her land, and will in 
due time place the "twelve tribes" upon it. 

Too numerous are the passages definitely declar- 
ing the restoration of Israel to her land, for nota- 
tion here; but the Pre-millennialist accepts the in- 
spired Isaiah's words, when he says: 

"For thy waste and thy desolate places, 

And the land of thy destruction 

Shall even now be too narrow 

By reason of thy inhabitants, 

And they that swallow thee up shall be far away. 

The children — shall say * * 

The place is too strait for me ; 

Give place to me that I may dwell. 

Then thou shalt say * * 

Behold, I was. left alone; 

These, where have they been? 

Thus saith the Lord: 

Behold I will lift Mine hand to the nations * * 

They shall bring thy sons in their arms * * 

The Lord shall comfort Zion, 

He shall comfort her waste places * * * * 

And the redeemed of the Lord shall return, 

And come with singing unto Zion * * * * 

Jeremiah says: 

*T will bring them into their own land." "And they shall 
dwell in their own land." 

Ezekiel proclaims that God will make Israel "one 
nation in the land (their own land) and one King 
shall be King to them all." 

Joel says: 

"I will bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem." 

Amos says : 

*T will bring again the captivity of My people Israel * * and 
they shall no more be pulled up out of their land." 



THAT BLESSED HOPE 59 

Obadiah says : 

"The captivity of Jerusalem shall possess the cities of the 
south * * and the Kingdom shall be the Lord's/* 

Micah says: 

*1 will assemble her that halteth, 
I will gather her that is driven out, 
And her that I afflicted." 

Zephaniah says : 

"At that time * * I will gather you * * 
When I turn back your captivity 
Before your eyes saith the Lord." 

Zechariah says : 

"I will save My people from the east country and from the 
country of the going down of the sun; and I will bring them, 
and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem." 

Let the Post-millennialist answer these arguments 
by saying "1 am chary of prophecy." 

The Pre-millennialist believes that "All Scripture 
is given by inspiration" — it is all *'God-breathed 
and profitable." 

The Pre-millennialist believes that "we have a 
more sure Word of Prophecy, whereunto ye do well 
that ye take heed." 

Surely all Israel will return — the ten tribes will 
inhabit Palestine. 

3. The Second Coming of Christ will restore to 
Israel her place of blessing. The promise to Abra- 
ham and his seed was "In thee shall all the nations 
of the earth be blessed." These words will be bless- 
edly fulfilled when Christ returns: 

What does God say in Isaiah : 

*1 will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, That thou 
(not the Church) mayest be My salvation 
To the ends of the earth * * * * 



60 PKOPHECY SEKMONS 

Kings shall see and arise, 

Princes also shall worship, 

Because of the Lord that is faithful, 

And the Holy One of Israel, 

And He shall choose thee. 

Arise, shine, for thy light is come, 

And the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. 

For, behold, the darkness covers the earth, 

Gross darkness the people; 

But the Lord shall rise upon thee, 

And His glory shall be seen upon thee. 

And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, 

And kings to the brightness of thy rising. 

The Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, 

And all the kings thy glory * * * * 

Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, 

And a royal diadem in the hand of thy God." 

Under restored Israel, with Christ standing as the 
ensign of the people, will be fulfilled Isaiah's won- 
derful promise: "The earth shall be full of the 
knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." 

Jeremiah, with inexplicable sorrow, and with 
floods of tears, had wept day and night for the 
slain of the daughter of his people : Then, with in- 
effable rapture and prophetic vision, he caught the 
words of the Holy Spirit as He bore testimony of 
Israel's coming world-wide glory: 

I will also glorify them and they shall not be small. 

And I will be their God and they shall be My people * * 

For they shall all know Me 

From the least of them even unto the greatest. 

Then shall Israel's glory and redemption be unto God for 

A name of joy, a praise and an honor, 

Before all the nations of the earth." 

Surely Zechariah was right when he said: 

"Thus saith the Lord of Hosts: 

It shall yet come to pass. 

That there shall come peoples 

And the inhabitants of many cities: 

And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, 



THAT BLESSED HOPE 61 

Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, 

And to seek the Lord of Hosts; I will go also. 

Yea, many peoples and strong nations shall come to 

Seek the Lord of Hosts in Jerusalem, 

And to pray before the Lord. 

Thus saith the Lord of Hosts : 

In those days it shall come to pass, 

That ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the 

nations, 
Even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, 

saying. 
We will go with you : 
For we have heard that God is with you." 

During those days 

''He shall speak peace unto the nations, 

And His dominion shall be from sea even unto sea. 
And from the river even unto the ends of the earth." 

It is axiomatic that in the Post-millennialist's 
"method of interpretation'' there is no place for Is- 
rael's becoming a world-wide evangel of peace. If 
Israel, nationally, is never to be forgiven; and if 
Israel, nationally, is never to be restored to the 
land, as the "Post" would have us believe, then 
the Holy Spirit might as well have left unwritten 
the marvelous and all-glorious prophecies concern- 
ing Israel as God's evangel of peace. 

Surely our Lord's return is the Blessed Hope 
of His Church ; of the physical earth and its crea- 
tures; of the whole race; of Israel — yea it is the 
Blessed Hope of our Lord, Himself. 



THE FOUR HORSE RIDERS 



THE FOUR HORSE RIDERS 

Our lesson for to-night is found in the 6th chap- 
ter of Revelation, beginning at the 2d verse: 

'*And I saw, and behold, a white horse; and he that sat 
on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him; and 
he went forth conquering and to conquer. * * 

"And there went out another horse that was red : and 
power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from 
the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there 
was given unto him a great sword. * * 

*'And I beheld, and, lo, a black horse; and he that sat on 
him had a pair of balances in his hand. 

"And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living crea- 
tures say, A measure of wheat for a denarius, and three 
measures of barley for a denarius (one day's labor) ; * * 

"And I looked, and behold a pale horse; and his name 
that sat on him was death, and hades followed with him. 
And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the 
earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with death by 
the wild beasts of the earth." 

There are three sets of judgments described in 
the Book of Revelation, under three distinct symbol- 
isms: The first, by the seven seals; the second, 
by the seven trumpets ; the third, by the seven vials. 
The seals and the trumpets cover the same period of 
time. They speak, however, of distinctive visions. 
The seals present to us sequential world woes — the 
natural harvest of man's own sinning ; the trumpets 
present to us the judgments of God upon the earth. 
The seven vials describe God's judgments, as the 
wrath is completed ; these are to be poured forth 
upon the earth, in rapid succession at the close of 
the tribulation period. But the seven seals and the 
seven trumpets fall into two parts, first four and 



66 PROPHECY SEEMONS 

then three. I think that the pivotal chapter of the 
Book of Revelation is the 12th chapter ; that the four 
seals come up to the 12th chapter and the three seals 
follow after; that the four trumpets come up to 
the 12th chaper, and the three trumpets follow after. 

A study of the 12th chapter is necessary to get 
the structure of the Book of Revelation. It is there 
you find the casting down of satan. He is cast down 
to the earth in the middle of the period knowing 
that he has but a short while, and he is full of wrath. 

The four seals, of which we are to speak to-night, 
therefore, lie before and lead up to the middle of the 
tribulation period. You may call them, if you wish, 
the beginning of sorrows. 

Certain words of our Lord recorded in the 24th 
chapter of Matthew, beginning with verse 4; speak 
of this same "beginning of sorrows." The words, 
chronologically, parallel the four seals : 

''And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that 
no man deceive you. 

"For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; 
and shall deceive many." 

"And ye shall hear of wars, and rumours of wars :" * * 
"Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against king- 
dom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earth- 
quakes, in divers places. 

"All these are the beginning of sorrows." 

In other words, the white horse is the false 
Christ; the red horse, is war; the black horse, is 
famine ; the pale horse, is pestilence. That is the 
order given in Revelation 6; that is the order giv- 
en in Matthew 24. It is a natural sequence. In the 
recent world war, events followed this same gen- 
eral line. 



THE FOUR HOESE RIDERS 67 

First: The opposition to Christ — the anti- 
christ. 

Second: War. 

Third: Famines. 

Fourth: Pestilence. 

THE RECENT WORLD WAR 

That which led up to, and brought on the recent 
world war, was, to my mind, nothing more or less 
than the rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ. It was 
the spirit of the antichrist. The war was caused by- 
German theology, by the domination of higher, de- 
structive, critical teaching. The modernism sound- 
ed forth by the schools of Germany, was worse than 
their militarism. 

However, I would not lay all the weight of the 
war upon Germany. Other nations had imbibed the 
same spirit that Germany possessed. One of the 
great leaders of France is reputed to have said some- 
thing like this before the war: "We have driven 
Jesus Christ out of our colleges, out of our schools, 
out of our hospitals, and we propose to drive Him 
out of our State altogether." 

Even our own country was not free from this spir- 
it of the antichrist which is to head up in the white 
horse. In our own land there are thousands who 
"wear the cloth," who have denied the only Lord 
God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; thousands who 
have discounted the Blood. These ministers have 
discountenanced the Deity and defamed the Virgin 
Birth of our Lord; they have denied the integrity 
of the Inspired Word. The world has rejected Je- 
sus Christ. "There shall be false christs." 

The world war followed. After the war, came 



68 PROPHECY SERMONS 

famine; following famine came pestilence. I have 
the data here, if I get to it to-night, which will show 
you about famine conditions, also data which will 
show what pestilences have been sweeping over the 
world. 

It is not difficult for you to see that the Holy 
Spirit rightly wrote, when He said that the white 
horse shall be followed by the red horse, and fol- 
lowed in turn by the black horse, and followed 
again by the pale horse. The Spirit of God is reveal- 
ing that which is yet to come. 

I. I BRING BEFORE YOU, FIRST OF ALL, 
THE RIDER UPON THE WHITE HORSE. 

There are some who hold that this rider is Christ. 
That is impossible, because the rider upon the white 
horse, Christ, is described in the 19th chapter. 
There, He comes forth and you cannot mistake 
Him. He wears garments sprinkled with blood ; 
He has upon His garments and upon His thigh a 
name written, **King of kings, and Lord of lords." 
This rider in chapter 6, is the antichrist. Satan has 
always been an imitator of Jesus Christ. If you 
find the True Christ riding upon a white horse in the 
Book of Revelation, you may also expect to find 
the false Christ, riding on a white horse. From the 
very beginning it was so. 

MOSES BEFORE PHARAOH 

When we go into the Book of Exodus we read 
how Moses and Aaron appeared before Pharaoh. 
Pharaoh said, "Shew us a miracle,'' "And Aaron 
cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his 
servants, and it became a serpent." Then Pharaoh 
called the wise men, the sorcerers and the magicians 



THE FOUR HORSE RIDERS 69 

of Egypt, and "they did so in like manner with their 
enchantments." A little later Moses turned the 
waters of the river into blood ; and the magicians of 
Egypt did so with their enchantments. A little later 
Moses brought frogs into the land of Egypt, and 
the magicians likewise did so with their enchant- 
ments. There is one thing, however, I want you 
to notice, — they could produce frogs but they could 
not get rid of them. They could bring them in, 
but they could not take them away. Only God 
could do that. 

The devil always tries to do everything that Christ 
does. Did Jesus Christ found a Church, so did 
the devil. The churches of Spiritualism and Chris- 
tian Science are churches of the devil ; that is what 
I think about it. The devil has his churches. They 
are of varied kinds and forms. Does Jesus Christ 
have doctrines, so does the devil. We read of *'the 
doctrines of demons.". Does Jesus Christ have min- 
isters, so does the devil. We read of *'the ministers 
of satan." Does the Church stand for righteous- 
ness, so do the ministers of the devil stand for right- 
eousness, — but a different kind of righteousness. 
True righteousness is the righteousness through the 
Blood. The righteousness which the devil preaches 
is the righteousness of the flesh. We read of **min- 
isters of righteousness." Thus it is that satan im- 
itates Christ. 

CONQUERING AND TO CONQUER 

The rider on the white horse must be the anti- 
christ and not the Christ, because Jesus Christ 
does not go forth conquering and to conquer in the 
opening scenes of the tribulation. 

I know that out of great tribulation a multitude 



70 PKOPHECY SERMONS 

from every kindred, tongue and tribe is to be saved, 
a multitude who will wash their robes and make 
them white in the Blood of the Lamb. I know also 
that the two witnesses are to come and give testi- 
mony during the tribulation. A marvelous work is 
to be wrought through these witnesses, among the 
children of Israel. Yet, in the opening scenes of 
the tribulation in no sense does Jesus Christ become 
a world conqueror, going forth to overthrow His 
enemies and to victoriously rout them. The open- 
ing scenes of the tribulation rather are scenes of 
darkness, of woe and of sorrow. It is the antichrist 
who comes riding upon a white horse. 

A MYSTERY MAN 

The rider upon this white horse is a mystery man. 
"The mystery of iniquity doth already work." The 
mystery of iniquity has been on the earth from the 
days of the Apostle Paul. It has been working. It 
will culminate in a man of mystery. When the anti- 
christ is revealed, he will not come blowing a trum- 
pet and announcing himself as satan's great master- 
piece. He will come covering up his real identity. 
He will come as a super man. 

I will give you what I think will be the regime 
upon which the antichrist will enter his work. 

1. He will come as a genius of finance, solving 
the great financial problems which confront the na- 
tions. We need some one to solve them just now. 

Japan has the least debt of any of the world na- 
tions. In 1913 Japan had one million and two hun- 
dred and forty thousand, public debt. In 1920 she 
had one million and three hundred thousand. So she 
has not hurt herself. 



THE FOUR HORSE RIDERS 71 

Canada has gone from five hundred and forty- 
four milHons, pubHc debt, into one biUion, nine hun- 
dred and thirty-five millions. 

Belgium has gone from eight hundred and twen- 
ty-five millions to four biUions. 

Hungary has gone from one billion, seven hun- 
dred and thirty millions to nine billions and odd 
dollars. 

Austria has gone from one billion up to seventeen 
billions. 

Italy has gone from two billions in 1913, to eight- 
een billions in 1920. 

In the United States in 1913 our national debt was 
one billion and twenty millions ; in 1920 it was near- 
ly twenty-five billion dollars. 

Great Britain jumped from three billions to thirty- 
nine billions. 

France had an increase of from six billions to 
forty-six billions. 

Germany has risen from one billion in 1913 to 
forty-eight billions in 1920. 

We need some one, I think, to take hold of the 
world's finances. The antichrist is coming as a 
genius in finance. 

THE LEAGUE WITH THE JEWS 

You ask how do I know that the antichrist is to 
be a genius in finance? Simply because the Word 
of God says that this man of sin, this antichrist, 
this apostate one, is to make a league with the 
Jews. That is my chief reason. Why should he 
make a league with the Jews if it were not for their 
pocket-book? Who has the money of Wall Street? 
Who holds the balance of power, financially, in 



72 PKOPHECY SERMONS 

Germany, and in France, and in Russia, and in the 
United States, who, except the Jews? No wonder 
then that when the antichrist swings into power he 
makes a league with the Jews. 

2. He is coming as a general in statesmanship. 

You ask. Why do you think so, Preacher? 1 will 
tell you why. In the Book of Revelation a jvoman 
dressed in scarlet, the mother of harlots, appears 
riding upon the beast the antichrist. Thus he comes 
into power aided and abbetted by an apostate Chris- 
tianity — an apostate Christianity welded together 
under the name of Universal Brotherhood. 

I have been very frequently asked if I think that 
the woman of Revelation 17 is the Catholic Church. 
My answer is, "Yes, but not exclusively the Catho- 
lic Church." I anticipate that apostate Protestant- 
ism and apostate Catholicism will join arms. With 
one front they will go forth in the coming days. I 
do not mean that Protestants will all become Ro- 
man Catholics or that the Roman Catholics will 
become Protestant. Not that at all. I mean that 
there will be a fellowship and a union between apos- 
tate Protestantism and apostate Catholicism in these 
days of darkness; that the antichrist will come nito 
his authority and power under the combined patron- 
age of this apostate church. 

You ask me again: "How do you know that the 
Antichrist is a general in statesmanship?'' I reply: 
Because the antichrist is to head a league of ten na- 
tions, and the whole world, politically, will be under 
the sway of the antichrist. The world will wonder 
after the beast. 



THE FOUR HORSE RIDERS 73 



SAUL A TYPE 

There was a time when Saul, the son of Kish, 
came forth a mighty man. He stood head and 
shoulders above any man in all Israel. When the 
people cried for a king did they choose the meek 
and Godly David, the man after God's heart? No. 
The children of Israel did not want David for a 
king, nor one of his kind. They wanted that mighty 
man Saul, the son of Kish. And the Lord said. 
Take him, you can have him. Thus Saul became 
the first king over Israel. And the antichrist, like 
Saul, the son of Kish, will stand head and shoulders 
above other men. He will be the most honored, the 
most recognized man of the world. The world will 
say, "We do not want Jesus Christ, we want the 
antichrist." 

God's plan is set forth in Isaiah 9 :6, 7 : 

"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given, and 
the government shall be upon His shoulder. * '^ Upon the 
throne of David, to order and to establish it, shall He sit." 

But, the world will not have God's Man to reign 
over it. Of old the Jews said : "Give us Barabbas 
— "Away with Christ, crucify Him.*' 

Christ foretold all of this. He said: 



» 



"I am come in My Father's name, and ye receive Me not : 
if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive." 

When the antichrist comes, the world will receive 
him. 

ABSALOM A TYPE 

Absalom is a type of the antichrist. If you will 
open the Second Book of Samuel you will find the 
story. I shall read only one or two verses to refresh 
your memories. 



74 PEOPHECY SEEMONS 

**And Absalom prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty 
men to run before him. 

"And Absalom rose up early and stood beside the way of 
the gate : and it was so, that when any man that had a con- 
troversy came to the king for judgment, then Absalom called 
unto him," etc. 

And Absalom said: 

"Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man 
which hath any suit or cause might come unto me, and I 
would do him justice. * * 

"And in this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came 
to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of 
the men of Israel." 

One other verse just here will be worth our 
while : 

"But in all Israel there was none to be so much praised 
as Absalom for his beauty: from the sole of his foot even to 
the crown of his head there was no blemish in him." 

When this antichrist comes there will be no one 
so greatly praised, none so honored. There will be 
no blemish in him from any human view-point. He 
will be the greatest man the world has ever seen. 
And they will turn from David, our Christ, and 
gladly go after Absalom their antichrist. Now by 
way of corroboration : 

When Absalom's insurrection arose, David went 
down by the brook Kedron weeping as he went. 
When the people refused Jesus Christ as King, He 
also went down by the brook Kedron and He wept 
as He went. In the Garden of Gethsemane He 
sweat, as it were, great drops of blood which ran 
down and fell to the ground. 

Again, just as Absalom in his insurrection against 
David stole the hearts of the people, so will the anti- 
christ steal the hearts of the people. Just as Absa- 
lom, was caught by the hairs of his head in the 



THE FOUR HORSE RIDERS 75 

boughs of an oak tree, until Joab slew him, so also 
will the antichrist in his pride and glory be over- 
thrown and cast down and slain. After the death 
of Absalom they said, *'And Absalom, whom we 
anointed king over us, is dead in battle. Now, there- 
fore, why speak ye not a word of bringing the king 
back?'' So also when the antichrist is overthrown 
and cast out, the hearts of the Jewish people and of 
all the world will be turned toward Jesus Christ 
and He will become King of kings and Lord of lords. 

AN EFFORT TOWARD WORLD PEACE 

When the antichrist first appears on this earth, 
he will seek to establish peace. The world certain- 
ly needs peace. I have a picture here of the Peace 
Court and the Peace Temple. I have a picture 
of the men who formed the League of Nations. 
Each face, is seen in this photograph. I also have 
a picture of the building where the League of Na- 
tions met. But I tell you, my friends, this world 
needs a man who will come forth and lead them 
to peace. They will get their man. The imitator 
of the Prince of Peace is the rider on the white 
horse. He will come the heralder of righteousness, 
purity, brotherliness and peace. 

Yet, this false promiser will not last very long as 
a prince of peace. His subtleties, his heartlessness, 
his cruelties, must be described in another sermon. 
We are only touching the very beginnings of the 
reign of the antichrist as he comes to head the na- 
tions, as he takes everything into his hands. The 
voice of the people, will ascertain his advent. The 
nations will render him homage. The antichrist 
shall take the reins of government. He will be the 
idol of a wondering world. 



76 PROPHECY SERMONS 

II. THE SECOND RIDER, ON THE RED 
HORSE, IS WAR. 

Look me in the face, every one of you. Do you 
think that the antichrist is going to be able to estab- 
lish a stable peace? Do you think that there is any- 
one beside the Lord Jesus Christ who can bring 
peace to this earth? 

WORDS OF EMORY W. HUNT 

I have something here, I want to read to you. 
The heading of this article is : "The Healing of the 
Nations." Hear these words : 

**We are feeling the need of it in these days, and we are 
getting fresh evidence of tbe worthlessness of the methods 
called statesmanship, to secure it." 

That is saying a whole lot for Emory W. Hunt, 
ex-President of Denison University, and now Presi- 
dent of Bucknell. Statesmanship has failed, he says, 
to secure it. Now listen to him again : 

"We can have no enduring peace and stable peace until it 
is founded upon principles dictated by the spirit of Jesus." 

Oh! if Mr. Hunt had only said until the coming 
of the Prince of Peace, I would have said Amen, and 
if "The Baptist" that publishes his words stood for 
that proclamation I would urge you all to subscribe. 
But it does not stand for it. Let me read again : 

"The greatest work in this cause is the spiritual work of the 
Church of Christ. It is preparing the way for the real In- 
ternationalism which will make the world safe. The trees 
which grow beside the Waters of Life are the lives which 
have been rooted in Christ. They are the pure, the rich and 
varied fruits throughout the years, and the leaves of the 
tree are for the healing of the nations." 

Such words from the learned President of Buck- 
nell and a Baptist leader astound anyone who has 



THE FOUK HOESE EIDEES 77 

even a puerile knowledge of either history or of the 
Bible. Does the Bible prophesy such a period of 
peace and brotherliness under the ministries of the 
Church? Didn't Christ say, "Think ye that I came 
to send peace on the earth? I came not to send 
peace, but a sword." 

Can there be any peace apart from the coming of 
the Prince of Peace? Mr. Hunt says, "We can have 
no enduring and stable peace until it is founded on 
the principles dictated by the spirit of Jesus." I 
want to say, "We can have no enduring and stable 
peace until Jesus Christ comes and establishes those 
principles." The Church can never do that. History 
gives no warrant for such a prophecy. It is an in- 
sane optimism which prints a program like that. 

Some of the most atrocious wars of history have 
been religious wars. The world war that has just laid 
beneath the sod seven millions of the flower of the 
youth of the earth was a war in which Christian na- 
tions were in the aggressive. It was not China and 
Japan, or India and Asia who were at war. It was 
England, and Germany, and France, and the United 
States, and Belgium and Austria, commonly called 
Christian nations. The heathen nations stood afar 
off and laughed at the way the Christians leaped at 
one another's throats. Every possible device to kill 
was used. Mothers were bereft of their sons, wives 
of their husbands and children of their fathers. Na- 
tions were thrown into starvation, cities were 
wrecked, civilization was turned upside down and 
the standards of world righteousness were over- 
thrown, — and all that, following an era in which the 
doctrine set forth by Emory W. Hunt had been her- 
alded as the chief factor. 

Anyone knows that four years ago the whole 



78 PEOPHECY SERMONS 

church, speaking generally, was thanking God that 
the millennium had come. Mr. Bryan, when he ac- 
cepted the portfolio of Secretary of State, said some- 
thing like this : "If I thought that a war of any 
portentions could be possible during my term of of- 
fice I would not accept this portfolio." The world 
felt that it had emerged out of the mire and the mud 
of butchery and of war. It believed that the ethics 
of the Christian religion, as set forth in what Mr. 
Hunt calls "the Spirit of Jesus" had so rooted and 
grounded themselves into our civilization that en- 
during peace was an established fact. My friends, 
listen! The very church itself is torn into a thou- 
sand schisms to-day. There is no harmony in the 
Church. The history of the Church has been one of 
schisms and divisions, of fightings and backbit- 
ings during the whole age of its existence. The 
story of the Book of Revelation is God's story. It 
is true. 

No wonder our verse reads: 

"And there went out another horse that was red; and pow- 
er was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the 
earth, and that they should kill one another; and there was 
given unto him a great sword." 

WORDS OF GOVERNOR COX 

I have here the picture of the man who was defeat- 
ed for President. He is a nice looking man, Governor 
James M. Cox. Here is his statement. It was sent 
out some time since by the National Democratic 
Committee. Listen to it : 

"The supreme issue of the century is before us, and the 
nation that halts and delays is playing with fire. The finest 
impulses of humanity, rising above national lines, merely seek 
to make another horrible war impossible." 



THE FOUR HORSE RIDERS 79 

Why didn't Mr. Cox read the Bible and find out 
that the red horse was coming out? 

Do you think, my friends, that this old earth is 
hastening right now toward an era of lasting and 
enduring peace? A peace that must come accord- 
ing to President Hunt by the church imbibing the 
spirit and passion of Christ. A peace that must 
come according to Governor Cox from a League of 
Nations. 

WORDS FROM SYDNEY BULLETIN 

Is world peace permeating the air? Listen to 
the headlines in the daily press : 

"Entente Meddling with German Transporta- 
tion." 

"Australia Fears America." 

This latter is taken from the Sydney (Australia) 
Bulletin. There is a picture of Abraham Lincoln, 
the great American patriot and statesman, and un- 
der his picture are these words : 

"Abraham Lincoln's views were stated in this way: When 
an American pays dollars for steel to a foreign manufactur- 
er, America has the steel and the foreigner has the dollars. 
But when he pays dollars for steel to an American manu- 
facturer, America has both the steel and the dollars." 

And then the advice is given by the Australian: 

"Lincoln's words are true to-day. When Australia sends 
outside the commonwealth for iron and steel, she does an in- 
justice to Australians by depriving them of work, and also 
places the commonwealth at the mercy of an enemy in time 
of danger." 

In other words, she fears American commercial- 
ism — bringing up jealousies. 

"America's 'invasion' of the Pacific and her possible de- 
signs on Asia are a familiar complaint in some sections of the 
Japanese press." 



80 PKOPHECY SEEMONS 

Do you think we can have lasting peace? A 
peace that cannot be broken? I want to tell you, 
my friends, it is almost impossible even for the 
victorious nations to divide the spoils without con- 
flict. When the human heart is so unclean and 
in every one there lurks a passion of war, do you 
think it is possible to have enduring peace? 

TIGERS IN MEN 

A minister once, in preaching said, "Now, all of 
you have different kinds of animals in you. Some 
of you have lions, and some of you have bears, and 
some of you have tigers inside of you." "Now," said 
he, "the tiger that you have in you is the spirit of 
hatred ; you get angry and leap upon one another." 
Just then a little baby cried out under the gallery 
and the minister lost his poise. "I wish you would 
take that baby out," he said. Then a little boy, up- 
stairs, shouted out, "Ah there, Tiger." 

I want to ask you, dear friends, as long as the 
tiger is in man, as long as that spirit of strife and 
jealousy and self-preferment is in the heart of man, 
how can we have peace? For a while the tiger 
can be changed, but his nature is the same. I would 
not risk any of the nations when they once get 
"riled up." 

I heard of a man and his wife who would fuss, 
and she said in a sober moment, "How will we ever 
get over this fussing? I love you and you love me." 
He said, "Darling, it is very easy. When I come 
home from work and I am tired and cross, you must 
be sweet; and when I come home from work and 
see you are tired and cross, I must be sweet." 
Then he added: "Whenever I am cross, and have 



THE FOUR HORSE RIDERS 81 

had a h^ird day's work and am all upset, I will wear 
my hat tilted on one side — then you be good ;" and 
she said, "All right. And whenever you come home, 
and I am cross I will have my apron pinned up a lit- 
tle bit, and you will know I have had a hard day 
and am nervous and unstrung and cross, then, you 
be good," and he said, "All right." So whenever he 
came home and her apron was pinned up he was ex- 
tra sweet, and whenever he came home and his hat 
was tilted she was extra sweet. But one day he 
came home, and her apron was pinned up, and his 
hat was tilted. They had not made any provision 
for that. 

And the League of Nations and all the rest of 
their old world schemes are no more than tilting 
hats and pinning aprons. You cannot change hearts 
by diplomacy. They can boast of "world brother- 
hood" and all that ; but I tell you, my friends, that 
the era of peace, and of rest, and of love has not yet 
arrived, nor will it arrive until the coming of the 
Prince of Peace. 

WORLD WARS SCHEDULED 

The wars which are to come will not be so much 
minor wars and factional wars as they will be world 
wars. I want to take about ten minutes, if I may, to 
show you how these wars are going to develop dur- 
ing the reign of antichrist. 

To my mind, prophecy clearly outlines that all of 
Nebuchadnezzar's image must be intact during the 
tribulation period. 

There will be, indeed, the establishment of the old 
Roman Empire under ten kings, but this will be pre- 
ceded by duplicates of the Macedonian, Medo-Per- 
sian and Babylonian empires. 



82 PEOPHECY SEEMONS 

These four great world powers, beginning with 
the Babylonian and concluding with the ten-king- 
domed Roman empire will follow each other with a 
rapidity that will startle the people who live to see 
it. 

Wars and rumors of wars will sweep across the 
area of the old Roman empire. The antichrist will 
soon sit in the saddle and direct world destinies. 

He and his vassals will contend against every one 
and everything that refuses to bow to his supremacy. 

DREAM OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR 

It is quite possible, I say, that what Nebuchad- 
nezzar saw in his dream — that great colossus with 
its head of gold, and breast of silver, and belly of 
brass, and legs of iron, and feet and toes of iron and 
clay — is all scheduled to take place during the reign 
of the antichrist. I know, of course, that the head 
of gold refers to the Babylonian kingdom, and the 
breast of silver to the Persian, and the belly of 
brass to the Macedonian Empire under Alexander, 
and the two legs of iron to the Roman Empire and 
its two divisions, the Eastern and Western, and the 
ten toes to the coming of the ten-kingdomed empire 
under the antichrist. I know all that. But, neverthe- 
less, the Word of God says, "I will show you the 
things which must come to pass in the latter days, 
in the last days." And when Daniel sees the same 
thing in the beasts of chapter 7 we read these words : 

THE FOUR BEASTS YET TO ARISE 

"These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which 
shall arise out of the earth" (Dan. 7:17), 

When this was written Nebuchadnezzar had come 
and gone ; and yet it says : He "which shall arise." 



THE FOUR HORSE RIDERS 83 

Again, in the 8th chapter of Daniel we read: 

"Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last 
end of the indigrnation : for at the time appointed the end 
shall be. 

"The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the 
kings of Media and Persia. 

"And the rough goat is the king of Grecia. * * 

"And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the trans- 
gressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance * * 
shall stand up" (Dan 8:19-23), 

When the antichrist then comes forth he is de- 
scribed in Revelation as having a form like a leop- 
ard, and the feet of a bear, and mouth of a lion. To 
my mind, therefore, putting together what God says 
in Daniel 2 :7 and 8 with what is said in Revelation, 
there may be upon this earth in the days of the anti- 
christ first, the domination of the lion empire ; fol- 
lowed swiftly by the domination of the bear empire, 
and again followed by the domination of the leopard 
empire, and finally followed by the establishment of 
ten kingdoms under the antichrist. 

Perhaps the lion empire is England, whose es- 
cutcheon is the lion ; (and England shall for a while 
dominate the Mesopotamian Valley, the old Baby- 
lonian Empire kingdom); then Russia, the bear, 
shall swoop down and snatch it away for a while; 
and following that the leopard shall seize the ruins. 
Afterwards the antichrist will get the whole domin- 
ion and hold it. Whether coming events will follow 
this line or not, there certainly shall be wars and 
rumors of wars in the shaping up of these nations, 
the coming ten kingdoms. 

ARMAGEDDON 

And then the reign of antichrist will end with the 
most tremendous war of history. I think you will 



84 PROPHECY SERMONS 

grant me that when the old Roman Empire gets to 
going in Europe and dominates the whole world so 
that no one can buy or sell without the mark of the 
beast, then the nations of the north (perhaps Russia 
in the lead, abetted by Japan) will begin to band 
together and come down against the ten-kingdomed 
empire. The antichrist will have his troubles and 
hours of anxiety, but in every instance, with sweep- 
ing power and wrath, with the power of the lion, 
with the cunning agility of the leopard, with the 
punch of the sure-footed he-goat, he will rush forth 
and conquer and break down, and overthrow. Final- 
ly antichrist will lead his hordes against Jerusalem, 
in the most tremendous battle that the world has 
ever seen, — called in the Word of God the battle of 
Armageddon. In our message on Christ, the rider 
on the white horse, this scene was fully described. 

Now you have heard something of coming catas- 
trophes. You know the red horse and its meaning. 
I have not time to go fully into the other two horses 
— the black and pale — the famines and the pesti- 
lences. We will group them together. 

III. and IV. THE BLACK AND PALE HORSES. 

"And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third 
beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse ; 
and he that sat upon him had a pair of balances in his hand. 

I would like to stop right now and take up an 
offering for the famine-stricken people of the near 
East. Listen to this : 

"This statement of conditions in the near East will, it is 
believed, serve to show that the food and comforts and cloth- 
ing that have been sent to the Armenians have reached their 
destination and have done their part towards saving the lives 
of one million persecuted people who are constantly sending 
their thanks to America/' 



THE FOUR HORSE RIDERS 85 

This is from the "Literary Digest'* of November 
20. Let me read again: 

"In the flood of gifts coming daily in response to the appeal 
of three and a half millions oi starving children, yours has 
been included — or has it not yet come? More than a hun- 
dred thousand dollars have been added to the amount ac- 
knowledged last week. * * Look out of your office window into 
the busy thoroughfare — or out from your home into the quiet 
street. If you could see marching there, before your eyes, 
even three thousand five hundred children, on their way to 
death unless you, and your town, raised at once thirty-five 
thousand dollars to save them, it would not take a single hour 
to raise the money — every dollar of it, over and over again, 
if necessary, to save these precious lives.'* 

STARVATION'S MARCH 

And yet there they march, thousands upon thou- 
sands, hundreds of thousands, little innocent chil- 
dren, men and women, at starvation's door. I have 
a picture of them here, where little children are seen 
lying upon their backs with their little stomachs over 
twice the size they should be (not from over-feed- 
ing but from lack of food) ; babies are brought into 
the world by mothers who were half-starved; with 
no chance at all of life. These pitiable conditions 
are the results of war. . 

I want to tell you, my dear friends, in the coming 
day the antichrist is coming forth riding on a white 
horse; following hard upon him is the rider on the 
red horse of war ; the world is ripening for him. The 
world is a seething volcano, and no one knows the 
moment when it will break forth. 

Following the red horse will come the black horse 
of famine, and close upon the heels of the black horse 
of famine will come the pale horse of pestilence. 
With all our boasted civilization did not famine 
and pestilence follow the recent world war? Lying 
beneath the sod are more men killed by pestilence 



86 PROPHECY SERMONS 

than were killed by guns, and gas and bombs. 

Let no one go out of this room and say, "Mr. 
Neighbour told us a fairy story.'' He said the time 
was coming when a great man of sin would dom- 
inate the world of politics, and finance, and states- 
manship, and literature and everything else; that 
that great man was going to get ten kingdoms under 
his authority and sway covering the landmarks of 
the old Roman Empire; that the world would be 
deluged in blood; that the world's greatest battle 
of Armageddon, was yet ahead ; and that the black 
horse of famine and the pale horse of pestilence was 
yet to come as a dark and foreboding cloud. 

Do not say, What a pretty story ! If I had preached 
this four years ago you might have laughed at it, but 
you cannot laugh at it to-night ; you cannot say it is 
impossible; you cannot say it cannot occur. All I 
have forecast from an open Bible has been done in 
miniature before your very ^yes. If it has happened 
once it can happen again. Can it not? 

You say that what has happened was the fulfill- 
ment of all I have preached. Not at all. There has 
not yet arisen the ten-kingdom empire. That must 
arise, or else the Word of God prophetically is not 
true. The world's great man, the antichrist, has not 
come yet. But, he will surely come. 

PREPARE TO MEET THY OOD 

In view of what is coming to pass upon this 
earth, let me urge you to prepare your hearts to 
meet the Lord. Get under the Blood. Be ready to 
go in when the marriage of the Lamb is called. 

May God grant that you may all be caught up in 
the rapture of the ones in Christ, that so you may 
escape the things which are coming to pass on the 
earth in the day of her greatest sorrow. 



THE RIDER ON THE WHITE HORSE 



THE RIDER ON THE WITE HORSE 

If you open your Bibles, we will read in Revela- 
tion 19:11: 

"And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and 
He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in 
righteousness He doth judge and make war." 

"In righteousness doth He * * make war." 
You certainly cannot say that of the wars of to- 
day, can you? You cannot say that of the great 
world war. You may say, "We had a righteous 
cause." This, however, is not talking here of a 
righteous cause, but of a righteous method — "And 
in righteousness He doth judge and make war." 

"His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were 
many diadems; and He had a name written, that no man 
knew but He Himself. 

"And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood : And 
His name is called the Word of God. 

"And the armies which were in Heaven followed Him upon 
white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 

"And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it 
He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a 
rod of iron; and He treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness 
and wrath of Almighty God. 

It is wonderful to me how these words read: 
"And He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness 
and wrath of Almighty God" — literally El Shaddai, 
the "God of the breast." All of this means that the 
God of judgment is the God Who supplies all your 
need ; that the One Who treadeth the wine-press of 
the wrath of God is the One Who takes care of you, 
even as the mother succors and takes care of her 
babe— the "God of the breast." 



90 PROPHECY SERMONS 

"And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name 
written, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. 

"And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried 
with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in mid-heav- 
en, Come and gather yourselves together unto the great supper 
of God; that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of 
captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, 
and of them that sit on them, and of the flesh of all men, 
both free and bond, both small and great. 

"And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth, and their 
armies, gathered together to make war against Him that sat 
on the horse, and against His army. 

"And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet 
that wrought signs before him, with which he deceived them 
that worshipped his image. These were both cast alik^ into 
the lake of fire that burneth with brimstone. 

"And the remnant were slain with the sword of Him that 
sat on the horse, which sword proceeded out of His mouth : 
and all the birds were filled with their flesh." 

LOOK FOR CHRIST 

The Book from vs^hich I have read is the Book of 
Revelation. It is the revelation of Jesus Christ. 
Therefore, when you read this Book, the last Book 
of the Bible, do not look for Israel, do not look for 
the Church, do not look for the false prophet, do not 
look for the antichrist — look for the Lord Jesus 
Christ. Look for Him in His relationship to His 
Church; look for Him as He moves among His 
people, Israel, His Old Testament saints; look for 
Him as He judges the nations, or as He casts down 
the devil, or, as He brings to naught the antichrist 
and the false prophet; look for Him as He estab- 
lishes His Kingdom ; remember that, primarily, you 
are looking at a revelation of Jesus Christ. 

WHERE CHRIST IS SEEN 

To-night I can do no more than to suggest to 
you that in this wonderful Book we find Jesus 



THE EIDEK ON THE WHITE HORSE 91 

Christ. We find Him, first, as He is, walking 
among His Churches ; secondly, we see Him on the 
throne preparing for judgment; thirdly, we see Him 
the center of a great multitude of worshipers; 
fourthly, we see Him as the One Who alone is able 
to open the seven seals; fifthly, we see Him as He 
cries out, "Touch not the earth, let not the winds 
blow, let not the wrath fall until I have sealed the 
servants of our God," and He orders the sealing of 
one hundred and forty-four thousand of Israel- 
twelve thousand from each tribe ; seventhly, we see 
Him as He gathers out of the great tribulation a 
multitude which no man can number, — we see that 
multitude standing before His throne, giving Him 
praise and worshiping Him. 

Next we see Christ as He gathers up the prayers 
of His saints, of Israei, the prayers of His down- 
trodden and afflicted brethren, the prayers of the 
people who have been hated and scoffed and scorned, 
the prayers of a people who are drinking the dregs 
of the cup of His wrath; we see Him gathering up 
their prayers and their cries : He puts them all into 
a golden censer and pours them out upon the earth. 
In other words, our Lord Jesus is about to vindi- 
cate His chosen people. The very heart of these 
prayers are recorded in the Book of Psalms; and 
they are called the Imprecatory Psalms. 

"After these things I saw, and behold, a door opened in 
heaven, and the first voice which I heard was, as it were, of 
a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither." 

THE TWO OPEN DOORS 

That is the first time in the Book of Revelation 
that you see the heavens open — a door opened in 
heaven. In the 19th chapter, verse 11, we read. 



92 PEOPHECY SEEMONS 

*'And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white 
horse." 

In the 4th chapter, the call is *'Come up." In the 
19th chapter the Lord is coming down. Between 
the two, the **Come up" of chapter 4 and the **com- 
ing down of our Lord" in chapter 19 lies the whole 
scope of the tribulation period. You will at once 
grant me that we have come now to the last scene 
of the tribulation, to the culmination of it all; we 
have come to the time when our Lord will put an 
end to Satanic domination. The antichrist has been 
ravaging the saints, pillaging Jerusalem, setting him- 
self up as God in Jerusalem, the beloved city. God 
says, "It is enough." 

"And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse." 

We bring before you, to-night, the Bible's most 
graphic picture of the Second Coming of Christ — 
not the coming of Christ in the air, which we call 
the rapture ; not His coming to catch up the Church, 
His Body, but the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ 
to the earth, attended by His holy ones. **And I saw 
heaven opened," and then — **Behold a white horse." 

In the 6th chapter of the Book of Revelation is 
the first mention of a white horse. We spoke of 
that a week ago. After this, we see Christ as He 
places His feet upon the sand and upon the sea, 
and enters claims to His rightful heritage. 

The Book of Revelation next describes Christ as 
He is, followed by one hundred and forty-four 
thousand; the first fruits from off the earth; those 
who were the virgins; those who had kept them- 
selves pure. Next, we see Him as He is acclaimed 
King. The 17th and 18th chapters then give us 



THE RIDER ON THE WHITE HORSE 93 

the overthrow of mystic and commercial Babylon. 
Then passing to the 19th chapter, we read : 

**And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our 
God, all ye His servants, and ye that fear Him, both small 
and great. 

"And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, 
and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty 
thtmderings, saying, "Alleluia; for the Lord God omnipotent 
reigneth." 

Then we see Him as the marriage supper is an- 
nounced : 

"And he saith unto me, write, Blessed are they which are 
called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith 
unto me. These are the true sayings of God." 

Following the announcement of the marriage sup- 
per and the marriage, with the wife made ready, 
and arrayed in fine linen, shining and pure, comes 
the heavens opened and the story of our message 
to-night ensues. 

Let us begin by quoting a passage from the 4th 
chapter of Revelation: 

"And I saw, and behold, a white horse, and He that sat on 
him had a bow; and a crown was given unto Him and He 
went forth conquering and to conquer." 

THE TWO WHITE HORSE RIDERS 

Thus, in Revelation, we have two white horses. 
The first white horse rider was the antichrist; the 
second rider on the white horse is Christ. 

Let me give you a few parallelisms between the 
Christ and the antichrist. Both of them come on 
white horses ; both of them come as conquerors ; both 
of them come provoking war. Let me give you 
some contrasts : The rider on the first white horse 
came as a heralder of a peace, but his coming was 
soon succeeded by a long series of wars and famines 



94 PEOPHECY SEEMONS 

and pestilences. The second rider on the white 
horse comes with a sword drawn for war; but His 
coming is succeeded by peace, prosperity and plenty. 

Christ comes first, as typified by David, to over- 
throw His enemies and establish His Kingdom; 
Christ comes secondly, as typified by Solomon, 
establishing a glorious peace, with a glory that shall 
reach all over the world. As the Queen bf Sheba 
came to the city of Jerusalem to see Solomon's glo- 
ry and riches, and as she said: *'The half hath not 
yet been told," so, during the reign of Christ will 
all nations come to Jerusalem to behold the glory 
of Christ and to worship Him. 

The rider upon the first white horse comes at the 
beginning of sorrows; but the rider on the second 
white horse, which we are considering to-night, 
comes at the close of the sorrows. The first comes 
from beneath as described in Revelation 13, coming 
up out of the sea; the second comes from above, 
from the opened Heavens. 

The first rider on the white horse, the antichrist, 
came for selfish ends, and he warred to obtain them ; 
the second one, the Christ, comes in truth and in 
righteousness and He draws His sword in behalf 
of others. 

The antichrist is an idle shepherd who despoils 
the sheep ; he makes a covenant with Israel and 
breaks it; Christ is the Good Shepherd, and the 
Great Shepherd and the Chief Shepherd, He comes 
and keeps the covenant which Israel had cast aside 
and trodden under foot. 

The first white horse rider, the antichrist, makes a 
covenant which Israel wants to keep, but the anti- 
christ does not keep ; the second white horse rider 



THE EIDER ON THE WHITE HORSE 95 

makes a covenant which Israel refuses to keep, but 
Christ does keep, vindicating His faithfulness with 
His people. 

Now, with these parallelisms before you, I want 
you to notice Christ as the rider on the white horse, 
described in Revelation 19. 

I. THE NAMES OF THE RIDER ON THE 
WHITE HORSE. THESE NAMES ARE MOST 
SIGNIFICANT. 

1. "And He hath a name which is Faithful and 
True." 

2. He has a name written upon His vesture — 
"The Word of God." 

3. He has a name — "King of kings and Lord of 
lords." 

4. He has a name that no man knew but He Him- 
self. 

The four names are described in Revelation 19. 

1. "His name is called Faithful and True." If 

you will turn to Revelation 1 :5, you will find "From 
Jesus Christ, the Faithful Witness." "Great is His 
faithfulness." He is faithful in His witnessing; 
He is faithful in His testaments: He is faithful to 
His people Israel — and, when He comes down and 
they look upon Him they will see His name writ- 
ten — "Faithful and True." He is faithful — One upon 
Whom you can depend; He is faithful — One Who 
will vindicate His saints and those who look upon 
Him; He is faithful — One Who will never forsake, 
never forget. 

During all the centuries He has watched over Is- 
rael, He had found Israel in a waste and a howling 



96 PROPHECY SERMONS 

wilderness, He had led her about; He had instruct- 
ed her, He had kept her as the apple of His eye. 

The One Who had watched over Israel, is the 
One Who knows the sparrow when it falls ; the One 
Who numbers the very hairs of your head. His eye 
hath ever been upon His people; **He Who watch- 
eth Israel doth neither slumber nor sleep." No mar- 
vel then that as He comes down the skies for her 
salvation, He has a name written, "Faithful and 
True." 

O, my Lord, You can not help but come, You 
must come. Your promise is sure: "If I go I will 
come again." Many mock Thee, my Lord. Scoffers 
may say, "Where is the promise of His coming?" 
Modernists may cry, "He will never return; away 
with this doctrine of the Second Advent." But my 
Lord will come — His name is "Faithful and True." 
Not a jot or a tittle in all the Prophetic Scriptures 
shall fail. His name is "Faithful and True." 

2. He has a name called "The Word of God:" 

That name which many derided and defamed and 
denied. That name, which men have spurned and 
blatantly refused — when He comes. His name is The 
Word of God. 

Oh, beloved^ I would like some of the higher 
critics of our day, these men who deny Genesis, 
these men who defame the Prophets, these men who 
denounce the Epistles and decry the Gospels — I 
would like these men to stand and see my Lord 
when He comes. When He comes down the clouds, 
His name will be the Word of God. That was His 
name in eternity past. "In the beginning was the 
Word, and the Word was made flesh and dwelt 
among us and we beheld His glory." Yes, the Word 



THE RIDER ON THE WHITE HORSE 97 

became flesh. If His name before eternity was the 
Word of God; and if His name at His first com- 
ing was the Word of God, do you wonder that when 
He comes again, "His name is written, The Word 
of God"? 

Oh, you critics, you blasphemous deniers of the 
faith, you scoffers at the Word, how you will cry 
for the rocks and the mountains to fall upon you 
and to hide you from the face of the descending 
Christ when you behold His name — "The Word of 
God." 

Do you know what the Word of God is? When 
you see the Word of God, you see Christ, and when 
you see Christ, you see the Word of God, for they 
are one. The man who takes the Word of God 
and mutilates it, is mutilating Christ ; the man who 
holds down the Word of God and tramples it un- 
der his feet, is holding down Christ and tramping 
Him beneath his feet. The man who takes the Book 
and believes it, and hugs it to his heart, and loves 
it, will not be ashamed when the Word of God 
comes down. 

3. His name is King of kings and Lord of lords. 

This twofold name displays His twofold sovereign- 
ty. 

First, He has the name, King of kings. That 
means He is sovereign over earth's monarchs. Sec- 
ondly, He has the name. Lord of lords, that means 
that He is sovereign over every spiritual power. 
He is King of kings because He is to take David's 
throne ; He is Lord of lords because He is to become 
forever a High Priest after the order of Melchizedek. 
As Abram came and gave his tithe to Melchizedek, 
recognizing him as sovereign in the religious realm. 



98 PROPHECY SERMONS 

even so shall those on earth worship Christ as spir- 
itual sovereign, as v^ell as sovereign political. 

You know^ the Catholic Church has always sought 
that dual reign. They desire not only to have the 
Pope, "Ut Deus," as God ; not only to have the Pope 
the sovereign of our Lord God in the spiritual realm, 
but they have equally desired to proclaim the Pope 
a king over world monarchs. And I want to say 
this : Should any prelate, cardinal or Pope come to 
the President of the United States from the Church 
of Rome, dressed in his regalia, should he come 
robed as a potentate seeking political homage, the 
President should refuse him audience altogether. 
If he comes in robes of a citizen, as a mere man, 
let him have the same rights that any other man has. 
He can come before the President of the United 
States as a man ; he cannot come as a representa- 
tive of the Church of Rome. Is that clear? We 
have no right to exclude any man, be he Catholic 
or Protestant, Jew or Buddhist, or whatever he is. 
This is a free country. Every man has equal rights. 
No man can come dressed in any regalia which 
seems to say, "I come as a representative of God 
and the government must accept my leadership as 
a king or my superauthority and power." 

But when Christ comes He has a name. King of 
kings — He will take the scepter of governments. 
He has a name Lord of lords — He will be Lord re- 
ligiously, Prophet and Priest as well as King. 

4. The most striking name of all, is this: "And 
He has a name which no man knows but He Him- 
self." Now, brethren, would you like to pry into 
this name ? Would you like to know ? You know a 
good deal ; you know His name is Faithful and True, 



THE EIDER ON THE WHITE HORSE 99 

you know His name is The Word of God, you know 
His name is King of kings and Lord of lords ; but 
there is one name you don't know. 

JACOB AND THE ANGEL OF THE LORD 

When Jacob was wrestling with the angel for fear 
of his brother Esau, he wrestled all night long, and 
by and by the angel touched his thigh and the sinews 
shrank. Then Jacob could not wrestle any more. 
He just clung. And as he clung, he said to the 
angel, "What is thy name?" What was the reply? 
Listen ! It was "Wonderful,'' "Mystery." 

Israel will yet be overthrown and the Edomites, 
the descendants of Esau, will yet seek to tread them 
down. Then Israel will cry out and struggle with 
God, and God will touch their thighs and they will 
be broken, cast upon their haunches. Then will Is- 
rael cry out and cling unto the Lord ; and the Lord 
will come riding on the white horse, and when He 
comes He has a name no one knows but He Him- 
self. That name is "Wonderful," "Mystery"! 

MANOAH AND THE ANGEL OF THE LORD 

When the angel of the Lord appeared unto Mano- 
ah's wife and told her that she would conceive and 
bear a son, that he should begin to deliver Israel, 
she told her husband of her Heavenly visitor. Her 
husband came before the Lord and plead with God 
to let the visitor return. In answer to Manoah's 
prayer he came a second time. When he appeared 
Manoah's wife quickly brought him word, and said, 
"The man has come who told me I should have a 
son." Manoah came out and stood before the Heav- 
enly visitor, and said, "Tell me about this child, 



100 PEOPHECY SEKMONS 

how shall we bring him up? Tell me all." The 
angel spoke good and pleasant words. Then Mano- 
ah looked up into the face of his vistor, for he knew 
not that he was an angel, and he said unto him, "Sir, 
what is thy name?" and the angel said, **My name 
is secret." Then Manoah made a fire and he put 
a sacrifice on it, and as the fire went up, the Angel 
of the Lord leaped into the flames, and ascended in 
the sight of Manoah and his wife. 

Brethren, there is a time coming when poor Israel 
will have another deliverer. Not Samson, the son 
of Manoah, but Christ, the Son of God. He will 
come and will begin to deliver Israel. And, when 
the Manoahs of that day shall say, "What is thy 
name?" He will say, "My name is secret." 

II. "HIS VESTURE WAS DIPPED IN BLOOD." 

It was in Moses' day that the avenging angel 
passed along at the midnight hour. Instructions 
had been given: Thou shalt kill a lamb and thou 
shalt take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood, 
and thou shalt sprinkle it on the two side posts, 
and upon the upper door post, and thou shalt stay 
in behind them, and when I see the blood I shall 
pass over you. But, wait, wait a minute. It was 
only the life that was sheltered by the blood that 
was secure. The others fell under the wrath of 
God. In the home of every Egyptian the eldest son 
lay a corpse, slain by the avenging angel. 

When Christ comes again He justifies His judg- 
ments, He vindicates His wrath, He establishes the 
righteousness of His fury by the fact that He has 
a vesture dipped in Blood. That Blood was shed 
a ransom for all, that Blood was God's call to eve- 
ry man to step in for shelter from the coming 



THE RIDER ON THE WHITE HORSE 101 

storm. It is only upon the man who refuses the 
covert, it is only upon the man who refuses the 
shelter that the coming wrath will fall. Christ will 
come upon a white horse, He will come in wrath to 
judge and to make war, and **He hath a vesture 
dipped in Blood." 

III. "HIS EYES WERE AS A FLAME OF 
FIRE." 

In the 1st chapter of the Book of Revelation Christ 
is described as walking in the midst of His Church- 
es. It is there that we first read, "And His eyes 
were as a flame of fire." When He comes again, 
comes down the skies, comes riding on a white 
horse; when His feet stand upon the Mount of 
Olives, then once more His eyes will be like a flame 
of fire. 

In the 6th chapter of Revelation and the last 
verses you have this cry: 

"And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the 
rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and 
every bondman, and every freeman, hid themselves in the 
dens and in the rocks (caves) of the mountains. 

"And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide 
us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and 
from the wrath of the Lamb. 

"For the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be 
able to stand." 

You cannot hide in that day from Him — from 
Him Whose eyes are as a flame of fire. His eyes 
will run to and fro through the whole earth; you 
cannot hide from Him. 



102 PBOPHECY SERMONS 

IV. "AND HE HAD ON HIS HEAD MANY 
DIADEMS." 

Oh! my Lord, I love to stop just a moment, and 
look at Thee coming upon the white horse. I love 
to consider the ones who make up Thine escort; I 
love to take in every detail of Thine appearing — 
Thine inscribed names. Thy vesture dipped in 
Blood, Thine eyes so all seeing: but that is not all 
— behold how Thy diadems glitter with glory! 

POTENTATE OVER CREATION 

1. He wears a diadem as Potentate over creation. 
That is one of His many crowns — for all things 
were made by Him and for Him, and without Him 
was not anything made that is made. When He 
comes with clouds He will claim His own creation — 
He will snatch from satan every vestige of his 
false claims. The usurper must yield and fall be- 
neath the power of the Coming Christ. 

HEAD OF THE CHURCH 

2. When He comes He wears the diadem of 
Head, to His Church. Christ is the supreme and 
only pontiff of the Church of God. He is Head 
from which the whole Body, fitly framed and joined 
together, worketh in love. He hath a diadem as 
Lord of the Church. 

KING ON DAVID'S THRONE 

3. He wears a crown which gives Him the right 
to David's throne. He will put His foot on the sand 
and on the sea and claim His inheritance. He conies 
wearing the Kingly crown. You know it is His 
Coronation Day. 



THE EIDER ON THE WHITE HORSE 103 

RULER OF UNIVERSE 

4. He wears a crown as the Ruler of the Uni- 
verse, as King of kings and Lord of lords. On 
His head are many diadems. Is there any one here 
who would wish to take from Christ one of those 
many crowns? 

Oh, that with yonder sacred throng 

We at His feet may fall, 
We'll join the everlasting song 

And crown Him, Lord of all ! 

V. HIS COMPANY. "AND THE ARMIES 
WHICH WERE IN HEAVEN FOLLOWED 
HIM UPON WHITE HORSES, CLOTHED 
IN FINE LINEN, WHITE AND CLEAN." 

Now, somebody sitting down there says, "I think 
that is a beauiful picture, but I think those armies 
from Heaven that follow our Lord are holy angels.'* 
Well, I, too, think the angels will surely be there, 
because the Bible says in many, places, in Matthew 
24, for instance. He cometh and "all the holy angels 
with Him." Yes, they will come down the clouds 
with Him, but not only they. 

"And the armies which were with Him followed Him upon 
white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean." 

The fine linen identifies the armies of Heaven 
with the saints and their righteousness. Over in 
the same chapter it says that "the fine linen is the 
righteousness of the saints." 

In other words, when He comes down the clouds, 
as Zechariah says, "The Lord my God shall come 
and all His holy ones with Him." The saints of 
both the Old and New Testament ages, and the 
saints who have gone before shall come down with 



104 PROPHECY SERMONS 

Him when He comes to the Mount of Olives. A 
beautiful picture, isn't it? 

VI. HIS WEAPONS. THE SWORD AND THE 
ROD. 

He hath in His hand a sharp sword, and with 
it He shall smite the nations ; and He hath a rod of 
iron and with it He shall rule them. Do you know 
what that means? That sharp sword, of course, 
speaks of the Word; and that rod with which He 
dashes the nations in pieces speaks of His scepter — 
His Word and His Scepter. 

PSALM 2 

"Why do the heathen rage (and that is what they are doing 
when He comes on the white horse) and the people imagine a 
vain thing? 

"The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take 
counsel together, against the Lord, and against His anointed, 
saying, 

"Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their 
cords from us. 

"He that sitteth in the Heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall 
have them in derision. 

"Then sjiall He speak unto them in His wrath, and vex 
them in His sore displeasure. 

"Yet have I set My King upon My holy hill of Zion. 

"I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto Me, 
Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten Thee. 

"Ask of Me, and I shall give Thee the heathen for Thine in- 
heritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy pos- 
session. 

"Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash 
them in pieces like a potter's vessel." 

Has it ever occurred to you that every picture 
of the second coming of the Lord to this earth is a 
picture of fiery indignation and wrath ; of tribulation 
and judgment which will consume the adversaries? 
When the white horse rider comes down, He comes 



THE EIDER ON THE WHITE HORSE 105 

with a sharp sword, His Word, and with a rod of 
iron, His scepter, to dash the nations in pieces. 

THE IMAGE GROUND TO POWDER 

When Nebuchadnezzar, in his dream, saw that 
great colossus; he saw also that a little stone came 
rolling down from the mountain side. The stone 
that was cut out without hands, and it smashed the 
whole image. It struck it upon its feet and ground 
it to powder. That is the same picture as the rod 
of iron which breaks the nations. 

But not only that; He comes also with His sharp 
sword of the Word. In Jeremiah 23, we have a 
picture. I wish that every higher critic of the Uni- 
versity of Chicago was here ; I wish they were here 
from all over the world to-night, and that they could 
hear these words about the Prophets who prophesy 
unto you and make you vain ; who speak a vision out 
of their own hearts; who say ye shall have peace 
and that every one that walketh after the stubborn- 
ness of his own heart — no evil shall come upon him. 

"I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not 
spoken to them, yet they prophesied." 

Then he says : 

"Behold I am against them, saith the Lord.'* 
"Is not My Word like as a fire saith the Lord; and like a 
hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces ?" 

I wish these critics would remember this other 
word in Hebrews: 

"For the Word of God is quick (that means living) and 
powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing 
even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the 
joints and marrow, and is a discerner of (the word in the 
Greek is critic) the thoughts and intents of the heart." 

When He comes down, the nations who have op- 



106 PEOPHECY SEEMONS 

posed His rule and rejected His authority, will feel 
His rod; the peoples of the earth who have rejected 
His Lordship, His Sovereignty, will feel the keen 
edge of His sword. 

His judgments will be against the rulers and the 
governments of this earth which have left Him out. 

When the League of Nations was formed there 
was no God in it, and no prayer. 

Do you know that there is no Christ in your Con- 
stitution? From start to finish, Christ is left out. 
Well, you say, they had to leave Him out. There 
were Jews and there were Unitarians and there were 
people from afar who could not receive Him as 
Christ. Thy had to leave Him out. True, but He 
is out, nevertheless. He is out of the Constitution 
of the United States. 

The governments of this earth will not have Him 
to rule over them. What is more, the apostate 
church will not give heed to His Word. Therefore, 
when He comes. He will come with a rod of iron 
to dash the political world to pieces, and will come 
with a sharp two-edged sword, the Word of Truth, 
to smite false prophets and teachers. 

VII. THE TREADING OF THE WINEPRESS. 

We are coming to something most startling. I 
do not preach this to make your flesh crawl; I 
preach it because it is in the Word of God ; I want 
you to hear it. He will tread the wine-press of the 
fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God. 

fTHE GOD OF THE BREAST 

Who is He, Whose wrath is so fierce? He is the 
Almighty — the El Shaddai — the God Who is enough, 
the God Who loves you and succors you, and up 



THE EIDER ON THE WHITE HORSE 107 

holds you and keeps you — the God of the breast. 
Hear me — the Jesus Christ Who is coming with 
such fierceness and wrath, is the same One Who 
threw out His hands and said : "Whosoever will, let 
Him come." He is the same One of Whom it is 
said, "He hath no pleasure in the death of the wick- 
ed." He is the same One Who on Calvary's Cross 
said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what 
they do." He is the same One Who threw Cal- 
vary's Cross and an open door to Heaven, between 
every man and eternal deatlv and hell. But, when 
He comes again. He treadeth the wine-press of the 
fierceness of the wrath of God — the Almighty. 

SAMSON GRINDING CORN 

There came a time when Samson was taken by 
the Philistines. They cut off his locks, put out 
his eyes, bound him and made him to grind corn for 
the Philistines. Look at him. First, the binding; 
secondly, the blinding ; thirdly, the grinding. Sam- 
son, you were made to grind out the com of the 
Philistines. They treated you like a mule or a horse. 
They fastened you to the long pole of their mill; 
they made you to go around and around, grinding 
out their corn. 

There came a time when my Lord who knew no 
sin was made to be sin for us. He took the sinner's 
place, and they bound Him ; they nailed Him to the 
Cross; they thrust the sword into His side; the 
Blood gushed out. With that Blood Christ made a 
fountain for cleansing. He cried and said : "Whoso 
eateth My flesh and drinketh My Blood will have 
everlasting life." 

But the world has gone on rejecting the proffers 
of life. And when Christ comes the second time, as 



108 PEOPHECY SEEMONS 

Samson of old ground out the corn, yea, rather as 
Samson, with his hair regrown, leaned on the pillars 
and shook the house down on all the Philistines, so 
is Christ going to grind out the fierceness of the 
wrath of God. When Christ comes He will grind 
out the wine-press, and, as He goes around and 
around the Blood will gush out; He will grapple the 
great pillars of the present world system, and cause 
them to fall down on the heads of His enemies. 

Oh! you say, what a horrid picture! It is the 
Word of God. 

SAMSON AND HIS HONEY 

There is another picture about Samson I will 
give, to relieve you for a moment. Samson caught 
a lion. He grappled with it in his God-given 
strength and he tore it open and threw it down 
dead. He left the carcase and went on his way. He 
was gone a little while and then he came back. In 
his absence the bees had taken the sweetness from 
the flowers and they had deposited it in the carcase 
of the dead lion. When Samson returned and looked 
at the lion, he said: "Out of the strong came forth 
sweetness, and out of the eater came forth meat," 
and he partook of the honey and satisfied his soul. 
Thus my Lord met the devil, tore him and threw 
him down bruised and wounded in his head. Christ 
has gone His way for a little while. We have been 
gathering up the sweetness. When Christ comes 
back again He will find the honey and He will re- 
joice. 

TREADING THE WINE-PRESS 

But to return to our first consideration : when 
Christ comes He will grind out the fierceness of 



THE EIDER ON THE WHITE HORSE 109 

the wrath of Almighty God. If you don't believe 
such wrath is possible, then go to Calvary's Cross. 
Behold Christ passing round the cycle of His suf- 
fering; bearing the sins of many. There for ^our 
sakes and mine, the Blood was squeezed out of 
Him, in the wine-press of the wrath of God. After 
you see that, you will not doubt that those who 
reject Christ will be thrown into the wine-press of 
the judgments of an Almighty God. Then the 
blood, will be ground out and it will flow around 
and about the press. 

VIII. THE FINAL PICTURE. 

After a scene like the above, you anticipate a final 
scene ; and, here it is : 

"And I saw an angel standing in the sun ; and he cried with 
a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in mid heaven, 
Come and be gathered together unto the great supper of God ; 

"That ye may eat the flesh of Kings, and the flesh of 
captains/' 

What carnage is this ! These are the slaughtered 
armies, slain as the rider on the white horse comes 
forth surrounded by his armies, with His eyes like 
a flame of fire. His sword in His right hand, as He 
comes forth treading the wine-press of the wrath of 
God. Look at the carnage! And the angel says. 
Come ye birds of the air to the supper of God and 
fill yourselves with the flesh of captains, and of 
mighty men, and with the flesh of horses and of 
them that sit thereon, and the flesh of all men, both 
bond and free, and small and great. 

"And I saw the beast (that is the antichrist) and the 
kings of the earth (who warred with him,) and their armies 
gathered together to make war against Him that sat upon tbe 
horse, and against His army." 



110 PROPHECY SERMONS 

ARMAGEDDON AGAIN 

It is of Armageddon I am reading now. It is the 
last great war; the war wherein the might of men 
is pitted against the might of Heaven ; it is the war 
of the kings of the earth against the King of Glory. 

**And the beast was taken and the false prophet that 
wrought signs before him, with which he deceived them that 
had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped 
his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire that 
burneth with brimstone. 

"And the remnant were slain with the sword (which is the 
Word of God) of Him that sat upon the horse, which sword 
proceeded out of His mouth : and all the birds were filled with 
their flesh." 

And it will take six months to bury the dead from 
the slain when my Lord comes again. 



HATH GOD CASTAWAY HIS PEOPLE? 



HATH GOD CAST AWAY HIS PEOPLE? 

The Scripture lesson to-night is Romans 11 :1 : 

"I say, then, Hath God cast away His people? God forbid. 
For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the 
tribe of Benjamin. 

"God hath not cast away His people which He foreknew." 

That Paul should answer the question as he does 
is not at all to be wondered at. The question reads 
thus: "Hath God cast away His people?" The an- 
swer is an irrevocable "God forbid/' that is, "Far 
be it from God." The reason for that answer is thus 
stated: "For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of 
Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not 
cast away His people." 

Many prophets and saints of the Old Testament 
were types of Israel. 

HOSEA A TYPE 

We can take the Book of Hosea, and particularly 
the 3d chapter, and we will find how God said unto 
Hosea : 

"Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adul- 
teress, according to the love of the Lord toward the children 
of Israel." 

And so Hosea married a woman of the whoredoms 
of the children of Israel. This woman was true to 
Hosea for a little while. Then she deserted him and 
went back to her whoredoms. Before her desertion 
children had been born to the union. Afterwards 
God said to Hosea, "Go yet and love a woman, be- 
loved of her friend, yet an adulteress." So, he said, 
"I bought her to me." 



114 PROPHECY SERMONS 

All that was a type of God and Israel. Abraham 
was an idolater, called out from his idolatry and 
from his people. In Abraham God formed a spe- 
cial people unto Himself. Children were born, 
Israel came forth. But, afterwards, Israel played 
the harlot. She wasted her love with strangers un- 
der every green tree. Her treacherous sister Judah 
also played the harlot. Then God said, "What shall 
I do?" "I will cast her off." So He cast her off. 
Yet, even as Hosea was told to "go yet and love 
a woman," so the Lord Jesus Christ will yet choose 
Israel and bring her back to Himself. 

Hosea does not stand alone as a type of Israel. 
Ezekiel was also a type. Jonah was a type. Thus, 
when you come into the New Testament you need 
not be surprised that the Apostle Paul himself says, 
"God hath not cast away His people, for I also am 
an Israelite. God hath not cast away His people 
whom He foreknew." 

ISRAEL A SPECIAL PEOPLE 

The question asked here demands emphasis on 
the pronoun— "Hath God cast away His people?" 
No other people than Israel were ever His people. 
What one nation on the earth is like unto Israel, 
whom God went to redeem to be His own people.'* 
"For Thy people Israel didst Thou make Thine 
own people for ever." 

And so the Lord hath not cast away His people. 
No other people ever had their land boundaries so 
favorably fixed as did Israel: "When the Most 
High divided unto the nations their inheritance. He 
set the bounds of the people according to the num- 
ber of the children of Israel." He separated and 



HATH GOD CAST AWAY HIS PEOPLE? 115 

scattered the nations and gave unto them an in- 
heritance; but He saved the heart of the earth, the 
choicest of it all, the most beautiful of it all, for 
Israel, for His own people. 

No other people have had such nearness to God 
and such favors from God, as Israel. **What na- 
tion is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto 
them, as the Lord our God has in all the things 
that we call upon Him for? And what nation is 
there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so 
righteous as all this law which I have set before you 
this day?" 

And so in the question, **Hath God cast away 
His people ?" the emphasis is on the pronoun "His.'* 

ISRAEL AN ELECT PEOPLE 

The question also demands emphasis on the word 
"foreknew." "God hath not cast away His people 
whom He foreknew." Had He not foreseen Israel's 
infidelity? Had He not foreknown every condi- 
tion which would arise? Had He not foretold how 
Israel would leave Him and go astray? Yet, did 
that foreknowledge set at naught the promise of 
God? God forbid. 

Now, God's covenants to Israel were in part con- 
ditioned, but not altogether. When God said to 
Abraham, "I will bless thee * * and thou shalt be 
a blessing, * * and in thee shall all families of 
the earth be blessed," that promise was absolutely 
unconditional. God promised upon His own power 
and authority. The word was not conditioned upon 
what Abraham or Israel might or might not do. 

God found Israel in a waste and howling wilder- 
ness. He led her about, He brought her unto Him- 



116 PEOPHECY SEKMONS 

self, He kept her as the apple of His eye. As an 
eagle stirreth up her nest, and fluttereth over her 
young, and spreadeth abroad her wings, and taketh 
them and beareth them on her wings, so the Lord 
alone did lead Israel. Yes, Israel was choice to the 
heart of God. 

He did not set His love upon Israel because Is- 
rael was more in number than any other people, 
for Israel was the fewest of all people. He loved 
her because He loved her and because He would 
keep His covenant with her. For this cause God 
would bless her and make her a blessing. Surely 
God hath not cast off His people. 

Let us look now into the answer that the Holy 
Ghost gives through Paul. This has been most il- 
luminating to me as I have prepared this address, 
and has blessing in it for all. 

The question is asked: "Hath God cast away 
His people?" 

The answer of Paul is given : "God hath not cast 
away His people, for I also am an Israelite." This 
is convincing and conclusive. About this we have 
just three things to consider: 

I. ISRAEL IS NOT CAST OFF, BECAUSE 
PAUL (SAUL OF TARSUS) ALSO WAS AN 
ISRAELITE, AND GOD DID NOT CAST OFF 
PAUL. 

II. THE LORD HATH NOT CAST OFF HIS 
PEOPLE ISRAEL BECAUSE PAUL WAS AN 
ISRAELITE, AND PAUL WAS SAVED BY 
GRACE, AND HIS SALVATION IS A TYPE 
OF THE COMING SALVATION OF NA- 
TIONAL ISRAEL. 



HATH GOD CAST AWAY HIS PEOPLE! 117 

III. GOD HATH NOT CAST OFF HIS PEO- 
PLE, FOR PAUL WAS ALSO AN ISRAEL- 
ITE, SAVED AND COMMISSIONED, AND 
HIS COMMISSION IS A TYPE OF THE 
LIKE COMMISSION WHICH ISRAEL 
SHALL HAVE IN THE DAYS OF HER NA- 
TIONAL REGENERATION AND SALVA- 
TION. 

Now, we ought to take these statements up one 
at a time. 

L PAUL (SAUL OF TARSUS) STANDS BE- 
FORE US AS A TYPE OF ISRAEL UNRE- 
GENERATED AND FAR AWAY FROM GOD. 
YET PAUL WAS NOT CAST OFF. 

There are three things I want to say about this : 

ISRAEL A PRESERVED PEOPLE 

1. Saul was of the stock of Israel, a preserved 
stock. You notice I dropped the name Paul, did 
you? I dropped the name Paul and said Saul, for I 
am talking of the unregenerate man now ; I am not 
talking of the Christian Paul, but of that Saul whom 
God met on the Damascus road. Saul the sinner, 
Saul the persecutor, Saul the Christ-hater. So I 
say Saul was of the stock of Israel, a preserved 
stock. Paul seems to say, "God hath not cast away 
His people" physically, for they are here. "I am 
an Israelite and I am here," says Paul. You know 
Paul did not feel at all as Elijah felt. In this 
same 11th of Romans we read : 

"Know ye not what the Scripture saith of Elias? how he 
maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, 

"Lord; they have killed Thy Prophets, and digged down 
Thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. 



118 PEOPHECY SEEMONS 

"But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have re- 
served to Myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed 
the knee to the image of Baal. 

"Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant 
according to the election of grace." 

Elijah felt that although he was left, he alone 
was left and they sought his life. 

Paul felt that because he was left, all Israel was 
also left. 

Elijah thought that Israel was spiritually doomed. 

Paul thought that Israel w;as spiritually certain to 
revive. 

Elijah anticipated immediate disaster. 

Paul anticipated future deliverance. 

Paul said, "I also am an Israelite." The very fact 
that Israel stood intact before Paul was sufficient 
proof that God had not cast away His people. 

THE BURNING BUSH 

The story of the burning bush was vindicated. 
God said, **Moses, take off thy shoes, for the place 
whereon thou standest is holy ground." As Moses 
drew near, he saw that bush and he marked it. The 
bush was ablaze but never consumed. In the burn- 
ing bush God foretold that Israel, in the flames of 
persecution, in the hour of her distress, would be 
ever burning, but never consumed. 

THE FIERY FURNACE 

Do not talk about the three Hebrew children 
cast into the fiery furnace, and say, *'That is not 
philosophical." Some of you do not think that 
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were actually in 
the burning, fiery furnace and that they actually 



HATH GOD CAST AWAY HIS PEOPLE? 119 

came out alive without the smell of smoke being 
upon them. You say that story is a mere fable. You 
know that it is impossible, for the very men who 
threw them into the fire were said to be consumed. 
Let me tell you now a greater miracle than that, a 
miracle before your very eyes — a miracle you can- 
not deny. Israel has been in the burning fires of 
persecution for twenty-three centuries. The Gen- 
tile nations during twenty-three hundred years have 
trodden her under foot. Israel has been burning 
but never consumed. Let the skeptic explain this 
marvel. The three Hebrew children and the fiery 
furnace is child' s play, compared to this greatest 
marvel of all history. 

JONAH IN THE FISH 

Do you see Jonah in the belly of the fish, undi- 
gested? Some one sitting over yonder says, "I do 
not believe the Jonah story." Poor dupe ! There is 
a greater miracle than that before your very eyes. 
What is it? It is Israel swallowed of the nations, 
as truly as Jonah was swallowed of the whale, yet 
Israel is undigested, unamalgamated, even as Jonah 
was undigested while he lay in the belly of the fish. 
God hath preserved Israel before your very eyes. 

Let me stop long enough to ask you some ques- 
tions. 

What do you think has kept Israel from losing 
her identity, as a people, during twenty-three hun- 
dred years? Do you think her king has held her 
together? No, she has had no king. She has been 
without a king since the last of the kings of Judah, 
Zedekiah, had his eyes put out in Babylon. 

What has kept her together nationally? What 



120 PKOPHECY SEEMONS 

do you think? Has it been her fatherland? No, she 
has been driven from her fatherland. The fewest 
number of Jews, comparatively, have remained in 
Jerusalem and in Palestine. 

What has kept Israel together? Has it been her 
Temple? No. Her Temple has been torn down 
since Titus destroyed it, seventy years after Christ. 

What is it that has kept Israel as a nation? Has 
it been her government? No, she has had no gov- 
ernment. Has it been her flag? No, she has had 
no flag under which she could rally. Has it been her 
friends? No, she has had no friends. She has been 
hated and hounded and harried by every nation un- 
der the heavens during many centuries. To-day 
she finds a harbor and a shelter in the United States 
and in some other lands; yet, the vast majority of 
Israel to-day are in Russian Poland and they are 
hated and scoffed and scorned, and you know it. 

What has kept Israel? Why has she not dis- 
integrated? Why has she not been amalgamated 
by the nations? I wish you would go to the great- 
est philosopher to-day ; pick him out, suit yourself — 
the greatest man of the world, a scientist, a philoso- 
pher, or a statesman. Say to him : "Sir, there is 
one thing I cannot answer; will you answer it 
for me?" How is it that a people, eleven or more 
millions strong, are in the United States, and Rus- 
sia, and Germany, and France, and England, and 
South America, and in the Isles of the Sea — scat- 
tered throughout the whole world, and yet never 
amalgamated by any of these nations? An Israelite 
is always an Israelite, and only an Israelite. The 
wisest man in the world, who leaves God out, can- 
not answer your question — but I can answer it. 



HATH GOD CAST AWAY HIS PEOPLE? 121 

You say I am a bigot! No, I am not a bigot. I 
would not know, either, if I had not read it in the 
Bible. When you close the lids of this Book there 
are many things you cannot answer. You cannot 
certify to me one thing about the future; you can- 
not tell me one thing that lies beyond the grave. 
You cannot get it in Theosophy ; you cannot get it 
in Buddhism; you cannot get it in anything under 
the sun, excepting in the Word of God. Thus also 
the Bible is the only Book on earth that can answer 
our question about Israel. Here is God's answer : 

A REMNANT OF GRACE 

"There is a remnant according to the election of grace. 

"And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise 
grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it 
no more grace: otherwise work is no more work." 

Now, let us get that clearly. 

"What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seek- 
eth for, but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were 
blinded." 

Some one is reputed to have asked William E. 
Gladstone, what he considered the supreme proof 
of the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures? Mr. 
Gladstone thought a moment and then he answered 
with clear, positive voice, "The Jew." You can get 
all your skeptics and line them all up, and there 
is not one of them who can give you any scientific, 
philosophical answer to: What has kept Israel from 
being lost and swallowed in the nations? 

Another thing that we want you to notice is this : 

2. Saul was "of the stock of Israel, circumcised 
the eighth day," a marked stock. Not only a pre- 



122 PEOPHECY SERMONS 

served stock, but a marked stock. Listen to this 
Word of God concerning the circumcision : 

**This is My covenant, which ye shall keep, between Me 
and you, and thy seed after thee : Every man child among 
you shall be circumcised. * * 

"And my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting 
covenant." 

CIRCUMCISION A MARK 

Oh ! how wonderful are these words ! I tell you, 
my friends, until this day the mark of circumcision 
is upon the sons of Israel, and that mark holds them 
in the eternal covenant of God as a special people. 
Some Gentiles may circumcise, but it is universal- 
ly practiced by the Jews alone. Not only that, but 
there are other wonderful things which mark them 
as a special people. 

OTHER DISTINCTIVE MARKS 

Now let me read this, a Word of Truth concern- 
ing Israel: 

*To whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the 
covenants, and the giving of the Law, and the service of 
God, and the promises; 

"Whose are the fathers, and of whom, as concerning the 
flesh, Christ came. Who is over all, God blessed for ever." 

Oh, what a wonderful privilege came to Israel. 
What a wonderful code of laws marked Israel. No 
people have ever been so favored and so blessed. 
They had wonderful laws of hygiene. Let me stop 
long enough to say that the laws of sanitation and 
of cremation and of isolation of which civilization 
boasts to-day were practiced in Israel thousands of 
years past. They had wonderful laws of sanitation, 
of the isolation of diseases, and of cremation of filth. 
They did not put refuse in a garbage can and have 



HATH GOD CAST AWAY HIS PEOPLE? 123 

some one come in the morning and put it in a big 
wagon and haul it off. They burnt all their refuse 
outside the camp. 

No nation has been blessed with such laws of con- 
duct. There are some lawyers sitting around me, 
who know well enough that the laws of the coun- 
try in which they practice to-day are based upon 
the laws of God given to Israel. 

Oh! what a blessed people! What a gracious 
Eye hath watched over them ! What a loving Hand 
hath led them ! What strength of body, what pow- 
ers of mind, what scope of vision belong to Israel. 
No people on the earth has ever been so favored 
and so blessed and so honored as has Israel in her 
past history. 

If there are any Jewish friends here to-night, hear 
this little part of my sermon, which you are not go- 
ing to like very much, but I must preach the Truth 
and all of the Truth. 

3. Saul was religiously, a type of Israel. A type 
of Israel as she was yesterday and as she is to-day. 
Saul was a moralist, he was a Pharisee, he was 
a prejudiced zealot. The culmination of his relig- 
ious madness began at the death of Stephen, and 
ended as he carried letters of authority against the 
Christians and journeyed to the city of Damascus 
to bring them bound, back to Jerusalem. Saul held 
the clothes of the young men who stoned Stephen, 
and Saul went to Damascus with indisputable evi- 
dence against the children of Israel. He went know- 
ing the claims of Jesus Christ; he went with the 
power of the ministry of the Son of God constant- 
ly before him. 



124 PEOPHECY SEEMONS 

ISRAEL, A CHIEF OF SINNERS 

There came a time in the life of the Apostle Paul 
when he said, *'I am the chief oi sinners." Truly, 
the chief of sinners in the United States, and the 
chief of sinners in the world are the Jewish people. 
They are the greatest sinners, the most ungrateful 
sinners, the most blinded sinners that have ever 
walked the earth. But, they are ignorant sinners. 

The Apostle Paul said that he was th^ chief of 
sinners, and yet Saul of Tarsus was not the chief of 
sinners because he was a murderer, for he was not; 
or an adulterer, for he was not; or a thief, for he 
was not; or immoral concerning moral law, for he 
was not. The Apostle Paul was a highminded, edu- 
cated, philanthropic Jew, a Pharisee of the tribe of 
Benjamin, educated at the feet of Gamaliel. And 
yet the Apostle Paul said that he was the chief of 
sinners. I want to tell you why. 

Before the Apostle Paul there were evidences con- 
cerning the Deity of Jesus Christ, concerning the 
efficacy of His Cross, concerning the literalness of 
His resurrection, concerning the assurance of His 
ascension. These evidences were absolutely indis- 
putable, undeniable, and yet the Apostle Paul shut 
his eyes doggedly, stubbornly, wilfully, though ig- 
norantly, against all the startling supply of evidence 
that lay before him. 

ISRAEL'S BLINDNESS 

Now, if you will be kind to me I am going to 
be true to you. You say, *'Let us all be kind." I 
will be kind by being true. You ask: "What does 
the Bible say about the Jewish people?" Let me 
read it to you: 



HATH GOD CAST AWAY HIS PEOPLE? 125 

"God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they 
should not see, and ears that they should not hear; unto this 
day. 

"Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stum- 
bling block, and a recompence unto them: 

"Their eyes are darkened that they may not see, and they 
bow down always." 

Before every Jew of our day there are proofs con- 
cerning Christ that are (absolutely indisputable, 
there are facts of His saving grace that are abso- 
lutely undeniable, and yet the Jewish people never 
see one of them. They are possessed with blindness. 
They know not what they do. 

I think that the Israel of to-day is the most un- 
spiritual, the most ungodly, the most prejudiced, 
but mark you, by no means the most unrighteous, 
morally (I am not discussing morals, I am talking 
of their attitude to God), the most unfaithful, the 
most ungrateful people that walk this earth. "Were 
there not ten lepers cleansed" said Christ, "but, 
where are the nine?" Only one returned to give 
praise to God. Oh ! if Israel to-night would sit 
down and count her blessings, if she would only 
remember that to her belong the adoption, and the 
prophets, and the promises, and the law, and the 
ceremonies, and the types, and that of her Christ 
came concerning the flesh. Who is over all, God 
blessed forever. The whole world owes Israel an 
unspeakable debt; but the world has forgotten her 
debt and Israel has repudiated her Gift. 

The Jewish people to-day are among the most 
destructive of critics. Christian Science denies 
everything vital, concerning Christ and it is literally 
filled up with Jews. The Jewish people to-day are 
only too willing to put Christ beneath their lowest 
prophet. 



126 PKOPHECY SEEMONS 

Oh ! beloved, listen to me. How I love Israel ! 
But she has closed her eyes to her ow^n greatest 
Son; she has shut her ears to all that her own 
prophets say of that Son — The Son of Abraham, the 
Son of David and the Son of God. 

When Stephen was stoned the young men rushed 
upon him, closing their ears to his marvelous testi- 
mony ; they took stones to stone him : and Saul stood 
by to hold their clothes and to countenance their 
madness. 

When Saul went down the Damascus road to ap- 
prehend the Christians, and to take them bound to 
Jerusalem, he went with a heart as hard as adament. 

The Jewish people to-day are just as heartless 
to Jesus Christ. They have no more love in their 
hearts for Christ than Saul had for Stephen or the 
Damascus saints. Christ came into the world and 
the world knew Him not. He came to Israel and 
His Israel received Him not ; nor have they received 
Him unto this day. And yet, the Jews have every 
day before them eleven million proofs that God Al- 
mighty still sees them, and loves them ; they have 
staring them in the face, eleven million proofs that 
God Almighty still holds them in His hand, in spite 
of all of their ingratitude, in spite of all of their in- 
justice, in spite of all of their infidelity. There are 
eleven million proofs — every one of the eleven mil- 
lion Jews left on this earth to-day is a distinct 
proof. 

Now I come to the second part of my sermon. I 
want you to hear this. Whatever you miss, don't 
miss this to-night. 



HATH GOD CAST AWAY HIS PEOPLE? 127 

II. "GOD HATH NOT CAST OFF HIS PEO- 
PLE," SAYS SAUL, "HE SAVED ME, AND 
IF HE SAVED ME HE WILL SAVE IS- 
RAEL." 

May we read you one or two selections. In I Cor- 
inthians, 15:8, Paul says this: 

"And last of all He was seen of me also, as of one born out 
of due time" — 

"ahead of my time of birth." 

What does this mean? "Last of all the Lord ap- 
peared unto me. He had appeared to Mary and to 
Cephas ; He had twice appeared to the disciples ; He 
appeared to five hundred brethren at once. Then 
Paul says : "And last of all, He appeared unto me, as 
one born out of due time." Paul was born an abor- 
tive, born before the full period arrived. What Paul 
meant was this : "I was born again ahead of those 
of whom my birth is a type. 

You ask. How do I know? Because in I Timothy 
1:13, we find these words: 

"Who before was a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and in- 
solent : but mercy was shown unto me. 

"And the grace of our Lord abounded exceedingly." 

And then he said : 

"For this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Christ 
Jesus might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to 
them who should hereafter believe on Him to eternal life." 

ISRAEL'S COMING CONVERSION 

"Oh," you say, "that means that the conversion of 
Saul was a pattern of how every man and woman 
who now believes is converted.'' No, bless your 
heart, no. Nobody was ever converted like Paul. 
What does he mean? The Apostle says, "Hath God 



128 PROPHECY SERMONS 

cast away His people, Israel? No. My very con- 
version is a type of theirs. Since I have been saved, 
Israel too shall be saved, and they shall be saved the 
same way that I was saved." 

Let me give you a few little steps that will help 
you to see the analogy between Paul's conversion 
and Israel's. 

1. There were certain pricks which goaded Paul. 
There were, before him, some of his own family who 
were saved and in Christ. Paul was excited to rival- 
ry and jealousy in his soul because of this, and also 
because of the sweep of Christianity around him. 
He could not understand it, and so he shut his eyes 
against it. Yet, it goaded him. Oh ! you dear Gen- 
tile saints, God bless you, you don't know how it 
makes some of these Jewish people around town 
feel, when they hear your Hallelujah ! When they 
behold your godly walk! 

Let us read Romans 10:19: 

"But I say^ Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will 
provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a 
foolish nation I will anger you." 

You Gentile Christians were no people, but you 
are now a people secured from the wrath of God. 
Christ has reached down and lifted you up and 
brought you into favor. You know Israel used to 
lean her head upon His breast, and Israel used to 
hear His voice from Prophet and from angel. There- 
fore Israel to-day says, "I don't like it. I never hear 
God's voice any more and yet these miserable Chris- 
tians who have received the Christ that I hate, are 
blessed." 

This goads them ; and pricks them. 



HATH GOD CAST AWAY HIS PEOPLE? 129 

Observe what is written in Romans 11 :11 : 

"I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God 
forbid : but rather through their fall salvation is come unto 
the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy." 

I want you saints in this house, you Christians, to 
live so godly, so righteously and so soberly before 
the Jewish people of Elyria and of the world, that 
they will say, "Surely the God of Jacob is with that 
people." Jab them, prick them, goad them. Do it 
lovingly, do it so they will understand why you do it 
— so you will drive them to Christ. 

2. There was continuously before the Apostle 
Paul, a marvelous testimony. Paul had heard the 
words of the martyr Stephen, when dying, when be- 
ing stoned to death. He had seen his shining face, hei 
had heard his final statement: "Father forgive 
them." 

There are two witnesses that are going to come 
forth during the tribulation period. They will stand 
before Israel just like Stephen stood before Saul. 
Their faces will shine, their testimony will sound 
forth. They are to be killed. Their bodies will lie 
three days in the streets of Jerusalem, which at that 
time will be called spiritually Sodom. There will be 
something about them that will goad and prick Is- 
rael, dwelling at the time in the land. 

3. There was a sudden and a marvelous forthshin- 
ing of light on the Damascus road. When that light 
fell on Saul he dropped down on his face and he 
said, "Who art Thou, Lord?" Oh ! my friends, when 
did that light shine? When Saul had in his pocket 
letters of authority against the Christians, when his 
heart was stiff and his will was unbroken, when he 



130 PEOPHECY SEEMONS 

was riding to Damascus. And to Israel, when in 
her league with antichrist she is set against Christ 
and His people, then suddenly her Lord shall ap- 
pear, coming in glory. He will appear, forthshining 
the glory of His holiness. 

Do you know what Israel is going to do when she 
sees that light? When she beholds the epiphany 
of her long rejected Messiah? Let me tarry long 
enough to try to picture that scene. The most 
graphic picture in the Bible on the Second Coming 
of Christ to Israel is in the 63d and 64th chapters of 
Isaiah. Listen! As Israel beholds Christ descend- 
ing she cries : 

ISRAEL'S CONVERSION DESCRIBED 

**Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments 
from Bozrah?" 

(Bozrah means the vintage, and Edom means red.) 

"Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments 
from Bozrah? this that is glorious in His apparel, traveling in 
the greatness of His strength?" 

That is their question as they see Him coming 
down the clouds. Here is the Messiah's response : 
'1 that speak in righteousness, mighty to save." 

And then Israel cries : 

"Wherefore art Thou red in Thine apparel, and Thy gar- 
ments like him that treadeth the winefat?" 

And the Messiah answers : 

*T have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people 
there was none with Me." 

And then poor Israel cries: 

"O Lord, why hast Thou made us to err from Thy ways, 
and hardened our heart from Thy fear? Return for Thy serv- 
ants' sake, the tribes of Thine inheritance. 



HATH GOD CAST AWAY HIS PEOPLE? 131 

"The people of Thy holiness have possessed it (the land) 
but a little while: our adversaries have trodden down Thy 
sanctuary. 

"We are Thine: Thou never barest rule over them; they 
were not called by Thy name. 

"Oh that Thou wouldest rend the Heavens, that Thou 
vvouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down 
at Thy presence." 

There you have got it. Oh! I want to tell you 
that Israel, rebellious, stiff-necked, adulterous Is- 
rael, will fall on her face and weep and wail. And 
then what? Just like Saul was saved Israel will be 
saved. 

Let me give you a few Scriptures on this line: 

"A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I 
put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of 
your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 

"And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to 
walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments. * * 

"And ye shall be My people." 

That has never yet been fulfilled, but it will be. 

"And I shall be thy God, and Judah shall dwell forever." 
"And I will cleanse your sins, I will remove the iniquity of 
the land in one day." 

"And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the 
inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplica- 
tion, and they shall look upon Me Whom they have pierced, 
and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only 
son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in 
bitterness for his firstborn." 

Now, this is from the accepted Jev/ish Bible — the 
Old Testament. 

"In that day .there shall be a fountain opened to the house 
of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for 
uncleanness." 

Now one other passage, this time from the New 
Testament : 



132 PROPHECY SERMONS 

"For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of 
this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; 
that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness 
of the Gentiles be come in. 

"And so all Israel shall be saved : as it is written, There 
shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away 
ungodliness from Jacob. 

"For this is My covenant unto them, when I shall take 
away their sins." 

Oh! friends, just like Saul of Tarsus was struck 
down and saw the shining light, the time is coming 
when all Israel, the nation as a whole, in one blessed 
day, shall be saved. 

III. GOD HATH NOT CAST AWAY HIS PEO- 
PLE ISRAEL, BECAUSE PAUL WAS MADE 
AN APOSTLE TO THE GENTILES. 

Oh, yes, the tables are going to be turned. When 
Saul was saved he was blinded for a number of days. 
So also, poor Israel, in their blindness will weep and 
wail because of their sins; they will regret their 
national ingratitude and their wilful rejection of 
Christ. Finally with their eyes opened, they will 
bless God and rejoice in Him. 

While Saul was shut in at Damascus, God said, 
**Ananias, go and anoint Saul, that he may see." 
Then Ananias said : *Xord, I have heard of him, 
that he has come up here with letters of authority 
to arrest us all.'' And God said, **Ananias, do not 
be afraid ; for behold he prayeth." And now, listen 
to this: 

"Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto Me, to bear 
My name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of 
Israel." 

What does that mean? The type is unmistakable. 
When Israel is saved and her sins are taken away. 



HATH GOD CAST AWAY HIS PEOPLE? 133 

she shall be commissioned to go forth as a world- 
wide evangel. 

I think '*the hardest will that ever rose to hate 
God's cause and scorn His foes," dwelt in Saul of 
Tarsus. I think the greatest man who ever lived 
and preached the Gospel of Jesus Christy and en- 
dured the most for His name was Paul the Apostle. 
I want to see these Jews, an eleven million Apostle 
Pauls doing the job of evangelization. Don't you? 

ISRAEL A WORLD=WIDE BLESSING 

When Israel is saved something is going to 
happen. 

*1 will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou 
mayest by My salvation unto the end of the earth. * * 

"Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, be- 
cause of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, 
and He shall choose thee." 

"Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the 
Lord is risen upon thee. * * 

"And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to 
the brightness of thy rising." 

"And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings 
thy glory, and thou shall be called by a new name, which the 
mouth of the Lord shall name. 

"Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the 
Lord." 

"Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, It shall yet come to pass, — 
(It has not yet come, but it will) — that there shall come peo- 
ple, and the inhabitants of many cities : 

"And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying. 
Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the 
Lord of Hosts ; I will go also. 

"Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek 
the Lord of Hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord. 

"Thus saith the Lord of hosts. In those days it shall come 
to pass, that ten men shall take hold, out of all languages of 
the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a 
Jew, saying. We will go with you: for we have heard that 
God is with you." 

Beloved, after the 1st of January I want to preach 



134 PEOPHECY SEEMONS 

a series of sermons on Israel. I have given you just 
the general scope. I want you to let me preach again 
and again on Israel. Let us go more into some of 
the details. There is a wonderful day going to dawn 
for the poor, despised Jew. During this age the 
Church has been grafted into the old olive tree, 
but we are only here only to fill in a long parenthesis 
of time. While Israel, because of her stubbornness, 
and because of the hardness of her heart, is broken 
off, the Church is grafted in; but, bye and bye the 
Church will be taken out. Then the Lord will come 
down to the Mount of Olives. Israel will be saved 
and restored, grafted in again. Then they will go 
far hence to the Gentiles. 
Of the preaching of the Apostle Paul it was said : 

"These that have turned the world upside down are come 
hither also." 

Will it not be great when Israel is saved! Lord 
hasten the day! The children of Israel, the Jewish 
people who are now so set against Christ, shall yet 
fall down and worship Him. They shall yet go 
through the length and breadth of the land, preach- 
ing the evangel of our Christ. 

Consider the Apostle Paul's ministry, the suffer- 
ings he endured, the journeyings he made — consider 
how he spent all for Christ. Then, think of him as 
a type of Israel. Imagine Israel going forth with 
the same fervor and faith, enduring and suffering for 
the Lord. Surely the world will be turned upside 
down again. 

"Hath God cast away His people? God forbid. 
For I also am an Israelite." If God saved Saul and 
if Saul is indeed a type — Israel too must be saved in 
the same way and to the same end, as Saul was 
saved. 



BE YE ALSO READY 



BE YE ALSO READY 



Open your Bibles to the 24th chapter of Mat- 
thew. I will read a few passages: 

"And Jesus went out and departed from the temple: and 
His disciples came to Him for to show Him the buildings of 
the temple. 

"And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? 
Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left one stone upon 
another, that shall not be thrown down. 

"And as He sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples 
came unto Him privately, saying. Tell us when shall these 
things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of 
the end of the age." 



Watch therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord 
doth come. 

"But know this, that if the goodman of the house had 
known in what hour the thief would come, he would have 
watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken 
up. 

"Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye 
think not, the Son of Man cometh. 

"Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord 
hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due 
season ? 

"Blessed is that servant, whom his lord, when he cometh, 
shall find so doing. 

"Verily I say unto you, that he shall make him ruler over 
all his goods. 

"But if that evil servant shall say in his heart. My lord 
delayeth his coming; 

"And shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and to eat 
and drink with the drunken: 

"The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he 
looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, 

"And shall rend him asunder, and appoint him his portion 
with the hypocrites : there shall be weeping and gnashing of 
teeth." 



138 PROPHECY SERMONS 

In order to get the force of these words it becomes 
necessary to remember the conditions under which 
they were spoken. 

NO REBUKE GIVEN 

The question asked at the opening of this chapter 
shows clearly that our Lord had frequently talked 
to His disciples of His return to this earth. There- 
fore the disciples, when they were come together 
said unto Him, **Lord, what shall be the sign of 
Thy coming and of the end of the age?'' Christ 
did not tell them it was a folly to discuss such a 
theme; He did not say, "Oh, well, let us not talk 
about that, let us talk about present truth; let us 
talk about things which are more vital to the time 
in which we are living." He did not say that, but 
He at once satisfied their question with a clear and 
concise answer. Christ plainly set a seal of approval 
on the search of Prophetic Truth. 

A FULL REPLY GRANTED 

The answer to the disciples' question, covers two 
chapters in the Book of Matthew, the 24th and 25th. 
To-night we expect to carry you only through the 
first half of Christ's answer which is recorded in 
Matthew 24. The balance of the Lord's admonition 
concerning the end of the age, and the signs of His 
coming are given in chapter 25. 

ORDER OF EVENTS OUTLINED 

In the 24th chapter we have, first of all, in verses 
4 through verse 8, the order of events that shall 
mark the coming of the Lord. 

First. **For many shall come in My name, saying, 
I am Christ, and shall deceive many." 



BE YE ALSO EEADY 139 

Second. "And ye shall hear of wars, and rumours 
of wars." 

Third. ''There shall be famines.'' 
Fourth. "There shall be pestilences." 
He speaks of these four things as the beginning 
of sorrows. Thus they only lead the way to the 
greater tribulation, the culmination of sorrows, or, 
the wrath completed. 

Fifth. "Then shall they deliver you up." 
The story of the martyrs comes, following the 
pestilences. 

Sixth. With verse 15 we have the beginning of 
the scenes which mark the darkest days of the tribu- 
lation; scenes which occur before our Lord comes 
down with His saints to the Mount of Olives. 

"When ye, therefore, shall see the abomination of desola- 
tion, spoken of by Daniel the Prophet." 

"For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since 
the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall 
be." 

"And except those days should be shortened, there should 
no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall 
be shortened." 

Thus we begin to understand the closing scenes 
of the Great Tribulation. 

Seventh. Christ takes up a description of His 
coming. Beginning with verse 27 He says: 

"For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth 
even unto the west: so shall also the coming of the Son of 
Man be." 

This passage presents not only the quickness of 
His coming, but also the brilliancy, the glare, the 
glitter of His coming. He comes as the lightning 
shineth from one end of the heavens unto the other. 
His coming is sudden, like a flash of lightning is sud- 



140 PROPHECY SERMONS 

den. His coming is glorious, like the lightning il- 
luminates the darkest night. 

Eight. The next thing Christ says is that, at His 
coming, there will be certain ones who will be gath- 
ered together unto Him : 

"For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be 
gathered together." 

Ninth. He shows us the cataclysmic signs which 
will accompany His coming: 

"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the 
sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and 
the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the 
heavens shall be shaken. 

"And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man, in 
heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, 
and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of 
heaven, with power and great glory." 

Tenth in order, Christ tells how Israel, the elect 
race, will be gathered to Him : 

"And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a 
trumpet; and they shall gather together His elect from the 
four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." 

Eleventh. Following these things Christ gives us 
some of the signs w:hich will foreshadow His com- 
ing. 

1. The first sign is the parable of the fig tree. 

"When you see the fig tree put forth leaves you know that 
summer is nigh ; so when you see these things coming to pass 
you know that He is nigh, even at the door." 

And so, when Israel begins her march homeward, 
you know the coming of the Lord is near at hand. 

2. He gives you the general earth conditions 
when He shall appear as a sign of His Advent. 

"But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming 
of the Son of Man be. 



BE YE ALSO EEADY 141 

"For as in the days that were before the flood, they were 
eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until 
the day that Noah entered into the ark, 

"And knew not, until the flood came, and took them all 
away; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. 

3. After He has given these signs, He speaks of 
the rapture of the Church as one of the events that 
will have established the certainty of His Second 
Coming (to Olivet) : 

"Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, 
and the other left. 

"Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall 
be taken, and the other left." 

"Watch, therefore;" is His final admonition, "For ye know 
not what hour your Lord doth come." 

Now after our Lord has given all this descrip- 
tion — First, the order of events ; secondly, the clos- 
ing scenes of the tribulation period ; thirdly, the de- 
scription of His coming; and, fourthly, the signs 
which will mark His coming — after He has given 
that — He concludes with the admonition which I 
now quote, and which we are to consider to-night. 

''But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known 
in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched 
and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 

''Therefore, be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye 
think not the Son of Man cometh." 

To-night we will discuss our Lord's own conclu- 
sion of this marvelous message concerning His Sec- 
ond Coming. Having followed me through the 
24th of Matthew, does it not appear to you that 
when our Lord spake the Word, He taught that His 
coming was imminent. That the rapture of the 
Church — the one taken and the other left — might 
be at any moment, at any time? Listen again to 
the text: 



142 PEOPHECY SEEMONS 

"Therefore, be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye 
think not, the Son of Man cometh." 

After Christ had given this solemn admonition to 
watch and to be ready, He enforced it with a two- 
fold illustration. He said : 

1. "If the goodman of the house had known in what watch 
the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not 
have suffered his house to be broken up." 

and, 

"Blessed is that servant^ whom his lord, when he cometh, 
shall find so doing." 

Doing what? Watching, looking, waiting, ex- 
pecting His coming and prepared for His coming. 

2. "But if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord 
delayeth his coming;" — 

Notice that all these people who put off the com- 
ing of the Lord, who deny the imminency of His 
coming, who reject the any-moment coming of 
Jesus Christ, are called evil servants — 

"But if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord 
delayeth his coming; 

"And shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and to eat 
and drink with the drunken. 

**The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he 
looketh not for him and in an hour that he is not aware of, 

"And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion 
with the hypocrites: there shall be wailing and gnashing of 
teeth." 

We have had a rather long introduction, but I am 
at last ready for my first main point. 

I. I WANT TO SHOW TO-NIGHT, FIRST OF 
ALL, THE IMMINENCY OF THE COMING 
OF CHRIST. 

Christ may come at any moment and He might, 
so far as the Church has known, have come at any 



BE YE ALSO EEADY 143 

moment since the day He uttered the words of 
this warning in the 24th chapter of the Gospel of 
Matthew. 

Now, brethren, the Church all along should have 
been expecting the return of the Lord. Perhaps 
there is some one here to-night who says, "Why 
should the early Church have been told to be watch- 
ing, to be waiting, and to be looking for Christ at 
any moment? Two thousand years have rolled over 
our heads and He has not come yet. Surely it is use- 
less to hold the Lord's return any longer as the 
Blessed Hope of the Church." 

Ah, you know God told us it would be that way. 
He said in the last days mockers would arise say- 
ing, "Where is the promise of His coming?" they 
would say that since the world was made, every- 
thing has run along smoothly; that all things are 
as they were, from the beginning. Yet, the Holy 
Spirit bears witness that these all willingly forget 
that the earth that was in Noah's day perished, 
being overflowed with water. Everything is not 
running as it was from the beginning, by any 
means. And the earth which we now have is re- 
served unto fire against the judgment of the ungod- 
ly. Our Lord will surely come. The imminency of 
His coming is ever before us. Let me take it up 
for you a step at a time. 

THE TWO MEN IN WHITE 

1. The first Scripture I want to bring before you 
describes that marvelously beautiful and striking 
scene, recorded in Acts 1 :9 : 

"While they beheld He was taken up; and a cloud received 
Him out of their sight. 

"And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven, as He 
went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 



144 PEOPHECY SEEMONS 

''Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing 
up into heaven? This same Jesus which is taken up from you 
into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen 
Him go into heaven." 

Now, there are certain people who delight in call- 
ing pre-millennialists, "star gazers." They say, "You 
remind us of the eleven who met Christ on the 
Mount, and they were steadfastly looking up. You 
men are eternally looking up, watching for the 
Second Coming of Christ." 

Hearken to me. Those eleven Apostles were 
not looking up watching for the Second Coming 
of Christ. The eleven were looking up, watch- 
ing Him go away. Their hearts were broken, 
crushed, and grieved, because Christ was disappear- 
ing in the cloud. They were not, at that moment, 
anticipating His return. They were not happy with 
the fact that He would come again. Therefore they 
had sorrow, therefore they were crushed. For that 
very reason the Lord, when He saw those upturned 
faces, and read the meaning of their countenances, 
quickly called two shining ones and gave them a 
message. He said. Go down and comfort the hearts 
of My disciples. Go down and say unto them : "Ye 
men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heav- 
en? This same Jesus which is taken up from y!OU 
into heaven, shall also come again." 

Thus, Christ encouraged His saddened followers. 
He seemed to say : "Do not watch Me go — watch 
for Me to return." "Get your eyes on My coming." 
That is it. 

Thus, the first thing the Lord did as He went 
away was to fire up His disciples and fill them full 
of the Blessed Hope of His assured return. 

If the Lord had said to the eleven disciples, "Be 



BE YE ALSO KEADY 145 

of good cheer, I am going to come in the year 
1914, (As Russell said), wouldn't they have gone 
home rejoicing? No. They would have said, What 
good is that to us ? 

I am sorry when any man puts any day, any week, 
any year, before this moment and the parousia. 

(At this point in the sermon the electric lights 
suddenly went out.) 

The Lord will come again, just as suddenly as 
these lights went out. 

(Gas jets were then lighted and the sermon pro- 
ceeded in a rather dim light.) 

The last passage that I read showed how the 
Lord sent two shining ones to impress upon the 
eleven the certainty of His return. What I was try- 
ing to stress was the sad plight that befalls us when 
anybody puts any date, or any occurrence, or any 
happening, between this very moment as we sit here, 
and the coming of our Lord for His saints. 

There are many things which must happen before 
my Lord comes to the Mount of Olives. The anti- 
christ must come, the ten-kingdomed empire must 
be formed. Many prophetic statements are written, 
which await fulfillment before the Lord comes to 
the Mount of Olives. But, mark you, (those of you 
who are not familiar with this theme), that before 
the Lord comes down to the Mount of Olives with 
His saints, He must come to the air for His saints. 
There is first the rapture of the Church, her catch- 
ing up into the air, and then, after that, and after the 
tribulation on this earth, a period covering a num- 
ber of years, we shall come back with the Lord to 
the Mount of Olives, and Christ will take the David- 
ic throne and reign one thousand years. 



146 PEOPHECY SEEMONS 

My contention is this : That between this mo- 
ment and the call of my Lord to His Church, there 
is nothing that must occur. If there were, I could 
not be watching for His coming. If there were. 
His coming would not be imminent. 

Some one asks: "Brother Neighbour, do you be- 
lieve in setting dates?'' I answer positively, "No.*' 
"If there are any post-millennialists here they will 
say, "That is right, preacher, hit 'em hard." I re- 
ply, No man has a right to set a date when my 
Lord will come to take away the Church. Now, you 
post-millennialists listen ! Neither have you any 
right to set dates when Christ will not come. When 
a post-millennialist says that Christ will not come 
for a thousand years, he robs the Church of the Ex- 
pectant Hope and Glorious Hope. 

PETER'S EXPECTANCY 

2. The second Scripture I want you to notice, is 
taken from Peter's words recorded in Acts 3 :19. 
He stood there before a great multitude, just follow- 
ing the scene at Pentecost. This is what he said, 
and he said it with all his heart : 

"Repent, and be converted, every one of you that the times 
of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord and 
so God may send Jesus, Whom the heavens must receive 
until the time of the restitution of all things." 

Peter stood there before that assembled multitude 
and cried : **Repent, repent, so that God may send 
Jesus." Peter longed for Christ's return. He antici- 
pated it. No wonder that in his Second Epistle, 
when Peter was about to leave this world, he was led 
of the Spirit to reveal the great throbbing of his in- 
most soul. Peter said : 



BE YE ALSO READY 147 

**As long as I am in this body, I think it meet to stir you up 
by putting you in remembrance * * For we have not followed 
cunningly-devised fables, when we made known unto you the 
power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." 

No wonder Peter said: 
"I want you to have these things always in remembrance." 

And no wonder that in the 3d chapter he said : 

"Looking for and hastening unto the coming of the Day of 
God." 

Perhaps, some one down there says: "Brother 
Neighbour, if Peter said he had to die, then he 
knew the Lord could not come before he died. And 
the Lord certainly showed him he was going to 
die." I can imagine Peter saying: "The Lord has 
told me by what death I shall glorify Him, but 
that does not break the fact that the Lord may come 
at any moment, and then I would not have to die." 
The possibility of the Lord's return was a con- 
tingency that was always understood. 

"Oh, joy! Oh, delight! 
Should I go without dying — 
No sickness, no sadness. 
No death, and no sighing, 
Caught up in the clouds, 
To the Lord into Glory, 
When Jesus shall claim His own." 

I want to tell you that the Coming of the Lord is 
more sure than death. How many of you think 
you must die? Listen. Here are two passages of 
Scripture which prove that 

ALL SHALL NOT DIE 

(a). "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 
in a moment" (I Cor. 15:51). 

The words refer to believers only. What do 
they say? "We shall all be changed." "We shall 



148 PEOPHECY SEEMONS 

not all die." Which then is the more sure of the 
two? The rapture or death? Certainly the rapture, 
because all will be changed, but not all will die. 

(b) In II Thessalonians 4:16-18 we distinctly- 
read: 

"The Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven, * * Then 
we who are alive and remain shall be caught up * * in the 
clouds, to meet the Lord in the air." 

Again we see that some will go without dying. 

So while Peter was told by what death he should 
glorify God (see John 21:18, ip with II Peter 1:13), 
yet after that (see Acts 3:19) Peter anticipated the 
possible coming of Christ as a contingency that 
was always possible. 

WAITING FOR CHRIST'S RETURN 

3. The third Scripture we will notice is I Thessa- 
lonians 1 :9. The Holy Spirit through Paul ad- 
dresses the Church at Thessalonica, which is the 
model Church, and He says: 

"You turned to God from idols to serve the Living and the 
True God, and to wait for His Son from Heaven." 

What was the attitude of the Church at Thessa- 
lonica, the model Church? What did Paul say? Was 
it something like this? — "My dear brethren, I want 
to tell you the Lord is not going to come for two 
thousand years or more. I have just been study- 
ing some figures in Daniel, and they figure up that 
the Lord is going to come in 1921." No, Paul did not 
preach that way, and I am not going to preach 
that way. I have no right to set a date when my 
Lord is going to come, for I don't know. The 
Apostle Paul commended the Church at Thessalo- 
nica for their waiting for the coming of the Lord. 



BE YE ALSO EEADY 149 

I had a Methodist bishop in my pulpit once — we 
loaned our church in Georgia to the Methodists 
for their Annual Conference. The Methodist bishop 
arose and said, *Taul believed in the imminent com- 
ing of the Lord Jesus Christ in his early ministry, 
and he wrote an Epistle about it to the Thessa- 
lonians. Afterwards Paul changed his mind, and 
wrote a Second Epistle to correct his mistake. The 
bishop was wrong. The Holy Spirit wrote through 
Paul in his First Epistle, as well as in his Second 
Epistle. There is not one word to suggest a change 
in Paul's attitude toward the imminency of the 
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

THE TESTIMONY IN ROMANS 

4. When the Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans, 
what did he say? Let me read you the 13th chap- 
ter of the Book of Romans, verses 11 and 12: 

"And, that knowing the time, that now it is high time to 
awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than 
when we believed. 

"The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us there- 
fore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the 
armor of light." 

If these words mean anything they mean that the 
saints at Rome were encouraged by the possible 
return of Christ. Every day and hour brought 
their salvation nearer. What salvation? The sal- 
vation that comes, when the Lord comes. For He 
will come "apart from sin unto salvation." 

The night is far spent. What night? The night 
that began when Christ went away. This whole age 
is night. Paul strengthened the troubled saints at 
Rome by urging that the day was nearing. Every 
word breathes the hope of Christ's soon return. 



150 PKOPHECY SEEMONS 

One other passage in Romans, chapter 16, verse 
20: 

"And the God of peace shall bruise satan under your feet 
shortly." 

Everybody here knows that the bruising of satan 
necessitates the Coming of the Lord (see Rev. 20: 

1-4). 

Therefore when Paul said : "The Lord will bruise 
satan under your feet shortly/' he was expecting 
the imminent coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

THE TESTIMONY IN TITUS 

5. We now bring out a Scripture in Titus 2 :12, 13 : 

"We should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this 
present world. 

Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing 
of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ."- 

How are saints to live? They are to live, "look- 
ing." 

Certainly saints cannot look for Christ's return if 
you rob it of its imminency. 

Certainly it has lost its keen edge as a Blessed 
Hope, if it is endlessly deferred, for "Hope deferred 
maketh the heart sick, but when the desire cometh 
it is a tree of life" (Prov, 13:12), 

Let no one, then, say "Our Lord delayeth His 
coming," and rob us of this "Tree of Life." 

THE TESTIMONY IN CORINTHIANS 

6. In the First Epistle to the Corinthians, 7:29- 
31, we read: 

"But I say, brethren, the time is short : it remaineth, that 
both they that have wives be as though they had none; 

"And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they 



BE YE ALSO EEADY 151 

that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, 
as though they possessed not; 

"And they that use this world, as not abusing it, for the 
fashion of this world passeth away." 

Oh! brethren, I tell you that I want to throw 
myself into the work of God as I never have be- 
fore. We may not have very long to work. That is 
the way Paul felt. "The time is short." He said to 
the Church at Corinth, "Hurry up, what you do, do 
quickly, move on in your task, for Christ is com- 
ing soon." 

I know what you are all thinking about. Just 
keep on thinking. Just let your thinkers work. 
That is all right. You say, "Then those early 
Churches were looking for the coming of Christ?" 
Certainly they were. "And He did not come." No, 
He did not come. "Then, they were all mistaken." 
That is what you are thinking? Is it not? Well, 
keep on thinking. I am glad at least you are think- 
ing. 

THE TESTIMONY IN HEBREWS 

7. We believe the Apostle Paul wrote the Book 
of Hebrews, and we want now to read three pass- 
ages from the 10th chapter. First, verses 11, 12, 13: 

**And every priest standeth daily ministering, and offering 
oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away 
sins: 

"But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins, 
for ever sat down on the right hand of God. 

"From henceforth expecting till His enemies be made His 
footstool." 

When Christ comes again He will come with a 
rod to dash His enemies in pieces. Well then, bless 
God, for Christ is sitting at the right hand of the 
Father, "expecting,'' "anticipating" the time of His 
return. How long has He anticipated? "From 



152 PEOPHECY SEEMONS 

henceforth/' that is from the time He sat down. 

Therefore for two thousand years Christ has been 

anticipating His Second Coming. Then, it surely 

is just and right for the Church to have been looking 

two thousand years for Christ to come. How sad 

it is when the Church loses that Blessed Hope? 

Listen to the other two passages from this same 

truth of Hebrews. Verse 23 : 

"Let us hold fast the profession of our hope without waver- 
ing. 

Two thousand years have passed and He has not 
come yet. Shall we give up? Shall we say, "I am 
beginning to think He may never come." What! 
Give up hope? Never! 

"Let us hold fast the profession of our hope without waver- 
ing; for He is faithful that promised." 

Now our other Scripture. Verses 35-37: 

"Cast not away, therefore, your confidence, which hath 
great recompense of reward. 

"For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done 
the will of God, ye might receive the promise. 

"For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come; 
and will not tarry." 

When I was in Kitchener, Ont., Dr. Marcus Scott, 
pastor of the Presbyterian Church, was in the audi- 
ence when I quoted this passage. He came to me at 
the close of the sermon and said, *'Have you noticed 
the Greek to Hebrews 10 :37 : 'For yet a little while, 
how little, and the Coming One will come and will 
not tarry'? And so the imminency of the com- 
ing of the Lord is shown everywhere by the Holy 
Spirit in Paul's writings. 



BE YE ALSO EEADY 153 

WHAT ^OHN WROTE 

8. Let US now notice what John has to say in 
his First Epistle, 3 :1 : 

"Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed 
upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: there- 
fore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not." 

And then in the 2d verse he says: 

"But we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like 
Him; for we shall see Him as He is." 

And then he adds : 

"And every man that hath this hope in Him purifieth him- 
self, even as He is pure." 

Oh! I love the way the Bible closes. Don't you? 
This is John still writing. Three times the clarion 
note is sounded forth: "Behold I come quickly." 
"Surely I come quickly;" and then what? "And 
the Spirit and the Bride say, Come, and let him that 
heareth say, Come." 

This is not an appeal of Christ, calling the sin- 
ner to come. It is the appeal of the Church to 
Christ to come. Oh! brethren, there is going to 
come a flash and a light, and upward we will go. 
(Cries of "Amen!") And then there will follow an 
hour of darkness over this whole world. There 
will follow an era of sadness, and of grief, of tribu- 
lation, and of anguish, of bitterness and of pain, 
such as the world has never known, and then sud- 
denly — 

(At this point, as the preacher said "suddenly," 
the electric lights suddenly came on again, and the 
preacher remarked : "Now, I did not have that ar- 
ranged. I hope the lights will stay on, for when 
that day comes they will never go out) — then sud- 



154 PEOPHECY SEEMONS 

denly He shall come to His temple and His feet 
shall stand on that day on the Mount of Olives; 
and His glory shall fill the world. For a thousand 
years the light will shine in the dark places. Isn't 
it great? 

Are you thinkers still thinking? Is it not time 
now to answer your thoughts? Why did not the 
Father reveal the time of Christ's return? Why 
was the Church taught to be always looking for 
Christ to come? Why the imminency of the Lord's 
return? Suppose the Lord Jesus Christ had told us 
when He was coming, the Church never would have 
had the inspiration of His return, calling her to en- 
larged service, and to purity of life. 

The Lord seemed to say: **I will surely come 
again; I cannot tell when; but I am coming; now, 
go out and preach, and as you preach be watching, 
and waiting, and looking." I will surely come 
again. 

AN ILLUSTRATION 

The story is told how, on one occasion, Dr. A. J. 
Gordon left home, and his two little girls said, "Pa- 
pa, when will you come back? We want to meet 
you at the train." Dr. Gordon said: "Children, I 
will come on Tuesday, or Wednesday, or Thurs- 
day, or Friday." 

And so their papa went away. On Tuesday the 
little girls said, "Mamma, please dress us up and 
let us go to meet papa." So the mother dressed 
them up in their very nicest, their very best, and let 
them go. But their papa did not come. 

They went down Wednesday and papa was not 
there. 

Then Thursday came along, and they said, "Mam- 



BE YE ALSO EEADY 155 

ma, cannot we go and meet papa?'' and she consent- 
ed, and they went down to meet papa, but papa 
did not come. 

Friday they went again, and, as they walked 
along, they doubtless said something like this: 
*Tapa did not come Tuesday, papa did not come 
Wednesday, papa did not come Thursday, but papa 
must come to-day. 

And when the train came puffing in, sure enough 
there was papa. That night, after the girls were 
asleep, the wife and husband were talking, and she 
said: 

"The next time you go off I wish you would tell 
the children that you may come home Sunday, or 
Monday, or Tuesday^ or Wednesday, or Thursday, 
or Friday, or Saturday." 

He asked, "Why?" and she answered: 

"I never had such an easy time keeping the girls 
clean. They wore the same dresses all four days 
and on the fourth day they were just as clean as 
they were the first day." 

THE APPLICATION 

Even so our Lord seemed to say : "I will come at 
one of the watches of the night. Perhaps at the 
evening watch, perhaps at the midnight watch, per- 
haps at the cock crowing or perhaps at the morn- 
ing watch." 

He wanted us to always be watching and to be 
always clean. We who live so far along the years 
and who see deepening signs of approaching day 
can truly say : "Our Lord did not come in the first, 
nor the second, nor the third watch and He must 



156 PEOPHECY SERMONS 

come soon, for the fourth watch is fast wearing it- 
self away." 

Surely he that hath the Hope of the Coming of 
the Lord at heart will never begin to eat and drink 
with the drunken. There is no doctrine in the Word 
of God that so inspires, so thrills, so helps, so 
blesses, as the doctrine of the imminent coming of 
the Lord, and this has been true all down through 
the ages. 

I had a very intimate friend, who has passed 
away into the Glory. He told me once: "I expect 
to live to see the Lord coming in the air. I expect 
to go up to meet Him in the sky." But that dear 
man of God is laid beneath the sod, and some one 
says: **Yes, and he missed it." Wait a minute. I 
want to tell you something else. He is still antici- 
pating. Yes, the ardency of his hope, and the pas- 
sion of his desire, has increased a thousandfold since 
we put his body aside. He is still hoping. 

In the Book of Revelation we have a picture 
where the saints who were martyred are crying out : 
**Oh, Lord Jesus, how long, how long." There 
you are. And they are all anticipating and look- 
ing forward to the Second Coming of the Lord Je- 
sus Christ. 

We are now ready for our second main consider- 
ation. 

II. WHAT IS THE BELIEVER'S ATTITUDE 
TO THE COMING OF THE LORD? 

Let everyone listen. Tell me — Is your attitude 
to the Coming of the Lord what the Bible teaches 
it should be? Whether you are here as a believer, 
or as a critic, I want you to answer these ques- 
tions as I read the Word of God. 



BE YE ALSO EEADY 157 

1. We should love His appearing. II Timothy 4: 
7,8: 

"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I 
have kept the faith : 

"Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteous- 
ness, which the Lord, the Righteous Judge, shall give me at 
that day : and not to me only, but unto all them also that love 
His appearing." 

Do you think the people who deny or who end- 
lessly delay the Second Coming of Christ, love it 
very much? Those folk who run around talking 
against the Coming of the Lord Jesus, criticizing the 
man who stands up and preaches it — listen to me — 
they don't love it. *Xove thinketh no evil." Yet, 
the Bible says we should love His appearing. 

2. We should occupy, in view of His appearing, 
for in Luke 19:13 it says: 

"Occupy till I come." 

You will not have any time to work after He 
comes. Then you will be raptured — taken up and 
changed. Then you will be called upon to give ac- 
count of your stewardship. 

Christ said: 

"I must work the works of Him that sent me, while it is 
day: the night cometh, when no man can work'* (John 9:4). 

So also is the Church of Christ called upon to 
work and toil and labor, occupying, in view of the 
soon coming of our Lord, and thus we should be 
prepared for His Coming. 

3. We should pray for His coming. 

"Even so, come, Lord Jesus'* (Rev. 22:20). 

I wonder how many of you pray, "Hurry Lord — 
hasten the day of Thy coming." 

Are you lovingly and longingly crying: "Turn, 



158 PEOPHECY SEEMONS 

my Beloved, and be like a roe or a young hart upon 
the mountains of Bether." (Bether means "separa- 
tion" or "division.") 

Is your heart, like Samuel Rutherford's, clinging 
to Christ as you plead : "Even so, come. Lord Je- 
sus"? 

4. We should be patiently waiting. James 5:7,8: 

"Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the 
Lord. Behold the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit 
of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive 
the early and latter rain. 

"Be ye also patient ; stablish your hearts : for the coming of 
the Lord draweth nigh." 

You are to be patiently walking your way with 
Him, awaiting His call to go up in the clouds. 

WE SHOULD LIVE LIKE ENOCH LIVED 

Enoch walked with God, and as he walked along 
the way, three hundred and sixty-five years, noth- 
ing new seemed to happen. Nothing strange oc- 
curred ; and then, one day, Enoch walked with 
God, and he was not, for God took him. We should 
be walking with God like Enoch walked ; then, one 
of these days, we will go walking — mounting up to 
meet the Lord in the air. 

WE SHOULD LIVE LIKE ELIJAH LIVED 

As Elijah and Elisha came from Gilgal, the young 
prophets said to Elisha, "Knowest thou that Jeho- 
vah will take away thy master from thy head to- 
day?" And he said, *'Yes, I know it; hold ye yKDur 
peace." And they walked together along the way. 
They went on from Gilgal to Bethel, then to Jericho ; 
then they crossed the Jordan and then walked on, 
and suddenly, up Elijah went. 



BE YE ALSO EEADY 159 

Oh! brethren, walk close to Christ's precious 
side, for one of these days He will be calling you 

up. 

What an inspiration is the Blessed Hope of the 
coming of the Lord. How it has stirred and 
strengthened the saints of all ages. Let me read 
you, in conclusion, some of the sayings of well- 
known men who served their generation and who 
loved His appearing. 

John Knox said: 

"Has not the Lord Jesus, in spite of satan's malice, carried 
up our flesh into Heaven? And shall He not return? We 
know that He shall return, and that with expedition." 

John Calvin, a bulwark among the Presbyterians 
said: 

"The Scripture uniformly commands us to look forward 
with eager expectation to the Coming of Christ, and defers 
the crown of glory that awaits, till that period." 

Isaac Watts wrote: 

"The glory of God down to man 
Removes His blessed abode. 
Men the dear objects of His grace, 
And He their loving God. 

How long, dear Saviour! Oh how long, 

Shall this bright hour delay? 
Fly swifter round, ye wheels of time, 

And bring the welcome day!*' 

Here is Henry Martyn, that wonderful preacher 
of Truth : 

"The coming of the bridegroom is looked forward to as the 
beginning of that happiness to the bride for which she has 
been preparing; so the appearing of the Lord Jesus is evi- 
dently expected by the saints, in proportion to their Heav- 
enly-mindedness, as the era of their deliverance from misery, 
and the commencement of their perfect enjoyment." 



160 PEOPHECY SEEMONS 

Listen to Dr. George Mueller, that wonderful 

head of the Bristol Orphanage, of England : 

"When it pleased God in July, in 1829, to reveal to my heart 
the truth of the Personal Return of the Lord Jesus, and to 
show me that I had made a great mistake in looking for the 
conversion of the world, the effect it produced upon me was 
this: From my inmost soul I was stirred up to feel com- 
passion for perishing sinners, and for the slumbering world 
around me lying in the wicked one, and considered, *Ought I 
not to do what I can to win souls for the Lord Jesus while 
He tarries, and to rouse a slumbering church?' I determined, 
consequently, to go from place to place, in order to preach 
the Gospel and arouse the church to look and to wait for the 
Second Coming of the Lord from Heaven." 

Oh ! beloved, I can give you paragraph after par- 
agraph. Here is one from Charles H, Spurgeon: 

"O Christians! do you know that your Lord is coming? In 
such an hour that ye think not, the Man Who once hung 
quivering on Calvary will descend in glory; The head that 
once was crowned with thorns' will soon be crowned with a 
diadem of brilliant jewels. I do look for His Advent before 
the thousand years, and expect He will come here again. 

"Jesus, our Lord, is to be King of all the earth, and rule 
all nations in a glorious, personal reign. The saints as being 
kings in Christ, have a right to the whole world." 

And so Charles H. Spurgeon wished for the com- 
ing of the Lord. 

Here is James H. Brookes : 

"This great Truth, The Coming of the Lord,' runs like a 
golden cord through the entire New Testament from begin- 
ning to end, touching every doctrine, binding every duty, 
arousing, consoling, directing, guarding, inspiring the believ- 
er at every step of his pilgrimage." 

Two weeks ago I sat with Charles G. Trumbull, 
the editor, and Howard Banks, the assistant editor 
of the "Sunday School Times." These men are at 
the head of the greatest Sunday School paper in the 
world. It has over one hundred and ten thousand 
paid subscribers. It goes to every country in the 



BE YE ALSO READY 161 

world. It goes to every mission field on earth. 
How many of you, in this audience, read the "Sun- 
day School Times"? About fifty of you. Some 
years ago Charles G. Trumbull was being entertained 
by Robert E. Stewart, and he met Mrs. Stewart's 
mother, Mrs. Bell, at Harrisburg, Pa. ; and she said 
to him, "Did you ever study the Second Coming of 
Christ?" and he said "No, I will be frank. I never 
have." She said, "It is worth your looking into, sir." 
And Charles G. Trumbull said, "By the grace of 
God I will study it;" and it revolutionized his life; 
it made him a new man. And, oh! the power of 
his testimony in the "Sunday School Times." And 
Howard Banks, is also filled and thrilled with the 
Hope of the Coming of the Lord. 

The men of God who are being largely used all 
over this country, are the men who are expecting 
and proclaiming the Blessed Hope of our Lord's 
Return. 

III. HOW CAN THE BELIEVER BE MADE 
READY FOR THE COMING OF THE LORD? 

This is our final consideration. 

"Therefore, be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye 
think not, the Son of Man cometh." 

I want you to be ready in love, I want you to 
be ready in service, I want you to be ready in faith. 
These are the three things that must be tested 
when He comes : 

1. He is going to take all your works and lay them 
out before you. He is coming and His rewards will 
be with Him. He is going to judge every man ac- 
cording as his work shall be. Oh ! be ready in your 



162 PEOPHECY SEEMONS 

works, in your service, and be ready in your gifts 
for they hold a large place in your service. 

How nobly some of you dear people are giving, 
and what a joy it is to your pastor. Thank God 
that you average $1000 per month for missions. I 
want to tell you something. When you stand before 
the Lord, the money you have put into stocks and 
bonds, the money that you put into this mill and 
that factory, into this bank, and that savings account 
will not stand with you ; but the money that you 
have put into missions, the money you have put into 
tracts, the money you have put into preaching the 
Gospel, the money you have put into any direct 
work of the Lord Jesus Christ, will meet you over 
there. You are sending it on ahead — you are laying 
it up where the moth and rust do not corrupt, nor 
thieves break through and steal. 

Oh ! dear brethren and sisters, I stir you up ! Be 
ready in your Christian service ! You will not have 
long to serve. 

"Solemn hour: thus on the margin 

Of that wondrous Day, 
When the former things have vanished, 

Old things pass'd away ; 
Nothing but Himself, before us, 

Every shadow passed : 
Sjound we loud the word of witness, 

For it is the last." 

*'One last word of solemn warning 

To the world below; 
One loud shout, that all may hear us 

Hail Him, ere we go : 
Once more let that name be sounded 

With a trumpet tone, — 
Here, amid the deepening shadows. 

Then — before the throne." 



BE YE ALSO EEADY 163 

So, if you have any more service to do for God, 
do it now. 

A poor preacher thinking to slur the Lord's Re- 
turn, said: '*If I thought that the Lord Jesus Christ 
might come at any moment, I w^ould go and build 
me a little house up on the top of the walls of Jeru- 
salem and stay there, folding my hands and doing 
nothing till the Lord came." He seemed to think 
that the Second Coming of Christ cuts the nerve 
of missions. It is a lie. That is nicely, and sweetly 
spoken! But, we have proof of our words. Did it 
cut the nerve of the missions in the First Baptist 
Church of Elyria? Did it? We have doubled and 
quadrupled anything known in the history of this 
church. Why? Simply because we are filled with 
the Blessed Hope of the Lord's coming, and we 
want to have something ready when He comes. 

We are going forth to win souls to Him, for, Paul 
said of his Thessalonian converts : "Ye shall be my 
joy and crown of rejoicing at the Coming of the 
Lord." We are going to stand true to the faith, 
for when He comes those who have kept the faith 
will receive a crown of righteousness. I plead with 
you, stand true to the faith. We are going to be 
ready in our love — for there is a promise to all those 
who love His appearing. 

Now, last of all, I want to say a word to the un- 
saved in this audience, and then I am done. 

When Enoch went up, what happened? The earth 
rapidly went into the darkest hour of its history, an 
hour which closed with the Flood. It was an era of 
God-forgetfulness, of sin, and of wickedness. 

When Noah went into the ark, what happened? 
You say, **He was shut in." What else? Did not 



164 PEOPHECY SEEMONS 

the men on the outside laugh and mock and scoff? 
Perhaps they said, "Ha, ha! That fool. Look at 
him. Think of all those animals he is taking in. 
Look at his wife, his sons, his daughters. What 
fools they are. And then God shut the door — then, 
the Flood, and then, the darkness, and then the cry : 
"Open, open unto us." But he said, "I know you 
not. The door is shut." 

When the Lord takes His Church up and in, what 
will happen? The world will mock. The daily pa- 
pers will come out with striking headlines about 
the unusual event. The scientists and highbrows 
will come forth and they will scientifically explain 
the disappearance of so many saints. They will put 
forth their blatant infidelity. But, I want to tell you, 
my friends, that those days will be days of sorrow 
and of bitterness. God's judgments will oversweep 
the world, until people will cry out in the anguish of 
their souls ; but the door will be shut. 

When Enoch went up, sin and wickedness rapidly 
developed. When Noah went in, the floods fell 
When Lot went out, the fire came. When the saints 
go up cataclysmic and catastrophic judgments will 
overthrow everything before the wrath of God. 

Oh! men and women, I plead with you, I plead 
with all the soul that is in me : 

"Therefore, be ye also ready." 

Come receive the Lord Jesus Christ to-night as 
your Saviour, your Lord and your Coming King. 

Be saved now, to-night, "For, in such an hour 
as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh." 



THE RIPENED HARVEST 

or, 

THE ANGEL AND HIS SICKLE 



THE RIPENED HARVEST 
or, 

THE ANGEL AND HIS SICKLE 

Our Scripture lesson to-night is in the 14th chap- 
ter of Revelation, beginning at the 13th verse: 

"And I heard a voice from Heaven, saying unto me, Write, 
Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth; 
yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; 
and their works do follow them. 

"And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the 
cloud sat one like unto the Son of Man, having on his head a 
golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. 

"And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a 
loud voice to him that sat on the cloud. Thrust in thy sickle, 
and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the 
harvest of the earth is ripe. 

"And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the 
earth ; and the earth was reaped. 

"And another angel came out of the temple which is in 
Heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. 

"And another angel came out from the altar, which had 
power over fire; and cried with a loud voice to him that had 
the sharp sickle, saying. Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather 
the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully 
ripe. 

"And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gath- 
ered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress 
of the wrath of God. 

"And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood 
came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the 
space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs." 

The Book of Revelation gives us many graphic 
pictures relative to the return of our Lord. The 
majority of these visions lie between the rapture of 
the Church to meet the Lord in the air, and the 



168 PEOPHECY SERMONS 

coming of our Lord with His Church, to the Mount 
of Olives. 

The scene that we have before us to-night is a 
most interesting one. To my mind there is nothing 
in the Book of Revelation which outshines it in its 
marvelous and majestic beauty. Before we look at 
the scene itself let us get its setting. 

SATAN CAST OUT OF HEAVEN 

First of all, the devil has already been cast down 
before the lesson of the night begins. 

"And there was war in Heaven: Michael and his angels 
fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his 
angels, 

"And prevailed not ; neither was their place found any more 
in Heaven. 

"And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called 
the devil, and satan, which deceiveth the whole world ; he was 
cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with 
him." 

When satan is cast down to the earth he knows 
that he has a short period, therefore he sets all his 
knowledge, and anger and wrath against the chil- 
dren of Israel. 

THE ANTICHRIST REVEALED 

Again, our lesson to-night follows the coming 
forth of the antichrist, and also the coming of the 
false prophet, both of which are described in chap- 
ter 13. The antichrist is the beast that rises out of 
the sea ; he has seven heads and ten horns, and he 
speaks great blasphemies. The false prophet comes 
forth from the earth; he causes every one to wor- 
ship the antichrist. 

Again, in the 14th chapter, we fall upon the scene 
of the hundred and forty and four thousand, who 



THE RIPENED HARVEST 169 

were redeemed from the earth, these are a first-fruit 
to God and the Lamb. Following this, are the cries 
of three angels. The first angel flies in the midst of 
Heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach. 
He calls to those who are upon the earth, to those 
of every nation, kindred, tongue and tribe, saying 
with a loud voice : "Fear God and give glory to Him, 
for the hour of His judgment is come; and worship 
Him that made Heaven, and earth, and the sea, and 
the fountains of waters." 

You notice that we are approaching the closing 
scenes of the tribulation to-night; therefore, this 
angel cries: "The hour of His judgment is come." 
The expression "the hour," carries us to the period 
of the wrath completed. It is synchronous with the 
vial judgments and Babylon's overthrow. 

BABYLON FALLEN 

The second angel conies forth and announces: 
"Babylon is fallen, that great and mighty city, be- 
cause she made all nations drink of the wine of the 
wrath of her fornication." 

Following the announcement of the fall of Baby- 
lon, the third angel comes forth, and he cries with 
a loud voice : "If any man worship the beast and his 
image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in 
his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the 
wrath of God." 

The antichrist has sought to force every man to 
receive his mark. If any man refuses to wear the 
mark of the beast on his forehead and on his hands, 
that man will be refused the privilege of buying or 
selling among men. Oh ! it will be a trying period. 
No wonder that the angel cries out: "If any man 



170 PEOPHECY SEEMONS 

worships the beast and his image, and receives his 
mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall 
drink of the wrath of God." 

In that time the man of the world will stand be- 
tween two fears : on the one hand will be the dread 
of the coming wrath of God, on the other, the dread 
of the wrath of the antichrist. Whichever way one 
turns there will be terror in his heart. If he turns 
toward God, the antichrist will persecute him and 
seek his life; if he turns towards the antichrist, 
God says: 

"Woe is that man, for he shall drink of the wrath of God, 
which is poured out, without mixture, into the cup of his 
indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brim- 
stone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence 
of the Lamb; and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up 
for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who 
worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth 
the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: 
here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the 
faith of Jesus." 

It will be a terrible time! You will see men and 
women once more being burned at the stake. The 
days of the martyrs will come again upon this earth. 
The slain of the Lord will be many. Indeed there 
will be a great multitude saved out of the tribula- 
tion period, and they will refuse to receive the mark 
of the beast, or to wear the number of his name. 

Following the scenes which we have briefly set 
forth, the lesson of to-night begins : 

I. OUR LESSON GIVES, FIRST OF ALL, A 
WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT TO MAR- 
TYRS. 

"And I heard a voice from Heaven, saying unto me, Write, 
Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth." 

During the tribulation period, that hour of trial 



THE EIPENED HARVEST 171 

that is going to try the men of this earth, the mar- 
tyrs of whom we have been speaking will find com- 
fort in these words. As they hide in the dens and 
caves of the mountains; as they starve for lack of 
food ; or as they are led forth to die, they will praise 
God for this word of cheer: 

"Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from hence- 
forth." 

I know that all the dead which die in the Lord 
are blessed, but these tribulation saints will be 
doubly blessed. They will rest from their labors; 
and their works will follow them. 

II. OUR LESSON DESCRIBES NEXT, THE 
PERIOD OF GOD'S WRATH UPON THE 
WICKED. 

"And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the 
cloud sat one like unto the Son of Man, having on his head a 
golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle/' 

(1) THE NAME WHICH CHRIST BEARS. 
SON OF MAN 

I want you, to-night, to gather with me around 
this scene and notice the Lord Jesus Christ. He 
bears the name, "The Son of Man." Christ has a 
fourfold Sonship. 

1. He is the Son of Man. 

2. He is the Son of Abraham. 

3. He is the Son of David. 

4. He is the Son of God. 

As Son of God, of course, He is Deity — God mani- 
fested in the flesh. As Son of David He has the 
right to the Jewish Kingdom, the Jewish throne, 
and He is the inheritor of the Davidic covenant. As 



172 PKOPHECY SEEMONS 

Son of Abraham He is the head of the Jewish peo- 
ples, redeeming their lands, and is the inheritor of 
the Abrahamic covenant. As Son of Man He re- 
stores all that was lost in Adam. The genealogy 
of the Book of Luke is the genealogy of Jesus Christ 
the Son of Man. When God* made man He gave 
him authority and dominion over all the earth ; over 
fish and fowl ; over beast, and vegetation. Every- 
thing was put under the hand of man. Jesus Christ 
is God's second man, the last Adam, and when 
He comes the second time He will exert His 
claims as the Son of Man ; He will reclaim all the 
rights, lost in Adam ; He will restore Edenic bless- 
ings to the race. He is the inheritor of the Adamic 
covenant. 

(2) THE WHITE CLOUD 

Let us notice next that Christ comes sitting on 
a white cloud. The story of the glory cloud, in the 
Bible, is a wonderful story. It brings you into the 
majesty of God's presence, into the Shekinah glory. 
We gave you a sermon some time ago on that 
cloud. 

At that time we traced the cloud through the Bi- 
ble. It was seen in the wilderness as the children 
of Israel journeyed ; it rested on the tent of the con- 
gregation when Israel pitched their tents. 

The cloud filled the Temple at its completion, 
but when Israel apostatized the cloud, the glory of 
the Lord stood over the threshold of the house and 
finally stood on the mountain which is on the east 
side of the city, and then, afterwards, disappeared. 

The glory cloud appeared at the baptism of Christ 
and again at; His transfiguration. 

Christ went up to Heaven in the cloud. The cloud 



THE EIPENED HARVEST 173 

will appear next during tribulation scenes and when 
Christ comes to earth He comes with the cloud. 

When therefore you see the Son of Man depicted, 
in our lesson to-night, as sitting upon a cloud, you 
think of Him in His glory and majesty^ moving 
swiftly hither and thither in the purposes of God. 
You think of Him as preparing His chariot of glory 
unto the day of His return. 

(3) THE GOLDEN CROWN 

The next vision of Jesus Christ, brings before us a 
golden crown. I thank God for the golden crown. 
It is the token of His Kingship. He is coming as 
King of kings and as Lord of lords to reign upon 
this earth. 

Years ago the crown was removed from David's 
sons: 

"Thus saith the Lord God, Remove the diadem, and take 
off the crown * *. I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it : and 
it shall be no more, until He come Whose right it is, and I 
will give it to Him" (Ezek. 21:26,27). 

Israel has abided many days without a king, and 
without a prince. 

However, David's greater Son is to have the gov- 
ernment on His shoulders, He is to reign on David's 
throne, to order and to establish it. 

How striking then is this picture. During the 
centuries which mark this age we have had no vi- 
sions of David's throne. God has been silent. 

When, however, this age is past, when Christ has 
left the Father's right hand, and the Church has 
gone up — then we see our Lord, Israel's Messiah, 
moving about on the glory cloud, with a crown 
upon His head — moving about hastening the day 



174 PEOPHECY SEEMONS 

when He shall claim His crown rights and sit on 
David's throne. 

III. OUR LESSON BRINGS BEFORE US THE 
RIPENED HARVEST OF THE EARTH. 

"And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a 
loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle 
and reap ; for the time is come for thee to reap ; for the har- 
vest of the earth is ripe. 

"And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle." 

In this cry of the angel you have the statement 
that the harvest of the earth is ripe. We are going 
to talk for a little while about the "state of the 
crops." Will you lift up your eyes? You know Christ 
said on one occasion: "Lift up your eyes, for the 
field is ripe unto the harvest." He spoke then of 
another kind of harvest. Here we have a ripened 
harvest, but not a harvest of sinners ready to be 
saved ; not a harvest of the redeemed, in any sense — 
they have already been harvested, that is they have 
already been raptured and caught up to meet the 
Lord. What we have before us is the harvest of 
the earth. "The harvest of the earth is ripe." 

There are a few things that come to mind. 

1. First of all, man has reached the very climax 
of man's day on every line. The harvest of man's 
eflfort, of man's genius, has come. His harvest field 
is filled with ripened grain. His day of seed sowing 
and of plant growing is ended. His work is done. 
His pyramid has reached its apex. His day is about 
to close. The harvest of the earth is ripe. 

There was a time, away back yonder, when man 
said : "Let us build us a tower," and they built a tow- 
er. It was called Babel. It reached up into heaven. 
In this act, men dethroned God. They said, "We 



THE EIPENED HAEVEST 175 

will make us a name." When their tower was com- 
pleted God came down. He beheld their pride, He 
saw their purpose, and He broke down their tower ; 
He smashed it to pieces. This is all a type of what 
we have before us to-night. 

Man in his genius and power has gone forth again. 
God has put no strings upon him. God has given 
him full sway, full swing. Man has gone forth to do 
everything that man can do. He has, in these last 
days, reached the height of human possibilities. The 
harvest of the earth is ripe. 

(1) Man's inventions are ripe. 

I think that everybody sitting here will quickly 
agree when we suggest that the harvest of the earth 
is ripe, so far as man's inventions are concerned. 
Think of what has happened, in recent years. 

Consider the printing press. What a marvel of 
ingenuity it is. The great dailies, with their many 
thousands of copies, arc rushed ofT with incredible 
speed; printed, folded and ready for the streets be- 
fore you can catch your breath. 

Consider the steam engine 'and the steam-drawn 
train. It is a regular palace on wheels. You can get 
anything you want on the modern Pullman. It is all 
very marvelous^ isn't it? 

Consider the modern steamer plowing its way 
through the ocean. It is a veritable city afloat — 
sailing on the bosom of the waters; and that ship 
contains everything that the wealthiest of the 
wealthy might desire ! Surely, man's day is ripe. 
Invention has reached the apex of its glory and of 
its power. It seems to me that there is but little 
room for improvement in the realm of invention. 



176 PEOPHECY SEEMONS 

2. Man's harvest is ripe because government has 
reached the apex of human attainment. Why should 
we not call our flag **OId Glory" ! Nowhere over 
the world have the people been given a government 
of the people, by the people and for the people, by 
such sane leadership, as is given the people in the 
United States. There is nothing better in all the 
world. All nations are more or less imitating and 
following our government. The harvest of the earth 
is ripe in government. Democracy presents man's 
best governmentally. 

3. The harvest of the earth is ripe in religions. 

There has never been a day that satan has put forth 
such beautifully worded and such marvelously 
draped religions as he has to-day. I tell you it is 
enough to make your heart ache. I have seen this 
in the city of Elyria, I have seen this up and down 
the land, as I go hither and thither — plenty of 
religion, but little Christ. 

The Protestant churches of to-day, — the Metho- 
dist Church, the Presbyterian Church, the Lutheran 
Church, the Congregational Church, the Baptist 
Church — all are rapidly swerving from the old-time 
method and the old-time message of the Gospel, to 
a new method and a new message which is not of 
God. 

THE DENVER IDEALISM 

The harvest of the earth, religiously, is ripe. The 
twentieth century ideal of the ripened earth relig- 
ions, is expressed in a little sentence put before the 
Northern Baptist Convention in Denver. What was 
it? "The mission of the Church is to establish a 
civilization Christian in spirit and in passion, 
throughout the world. 



THE RIPENEB HAEVEST 177 

THE N. B. C. "SURVEY" 

I have in my hand the "Survey'' of the fields and 
work of the Northern Baptist Convention. It is a 
revised edition, published during this year. I vv;ant 
to read you something it contains which is very 
startling to me : 

"The first and most important question is as to what is our 
real aim and purpose in this foreign mission task? Upon our 
answer to that question must depend all our plans for the fu- 
ture. It is important that we understand this question in its 
full significance. Without doubt the purpose of Adoniram 
Judson and his fellow-missionaries of the first fifty years was 
to fulfil, literally, the terms of the Great Commission and 
preach the Gospel to every creature. Their one thought was 
to get the message of Christ to as many individuals as possi- 
ble before they were swept into the outer darkness and a 
Christless eternity. They were constantly burdened by a 
compassion for the multitude about them who were without a 
§hepherd. The determination to inform as many of these 
people as possible of the Christ, guided the plans for our 
Baptist missionary work for a large part of its history." 

The '^Survey" then concedes that Judson did very 
well as far as Judson knew. But listen to this, the 
"Survey" continues : 

"The Christian Church has completely revolutionized its 
thought of its mission in the past twenty-five years." 

Any man or any denomination which holds as its 
mission what is set forth in this book must be de- 
cried and denounced. Listen to it! 

"The Christian Church has completely revolutionized its 
thought of its mission in the past twenty-five years. We now 
see most clearly that the mission of the Christian Church is not 
merely to pluck a few brands from the burning, but to create 
a Christian civilization. That puts the task of Christian 
missions on an entirely different plane." 

I wonder how Judson would feel about such a 
statement. What would Carey think? Those noble 



178 PEOPHECY SERMONS 

men of God who gave their lives to preach Jesus 
Christ to the heathen of India. I wonder what A. J. 
Gordon would think of this? But let me read again 
from the ''Survey f 

"When the Student Volunteer Movement was organized 
thirty years ago, its aim was to present the Gospel at least 
once to every creature in the world within a generation. That 
was a worthy ideal, but it has been completely dwarfed by the 
newer conception of our mission. * * But how infinitesimal 
that task now seems compared with what we understand to- 
day to be our mission. Our business is to establish a Chris- 
tian civilization that is Christian in spirit and in passion, 
the world around, in Borneo as much as in Boston. This 
newer conception is so much greater than the older that to 
many of us the task will seem entirely new. * * We know 
now that we cannot retain our own Christian civilization ex- 
cept as the civilization of Russia, Austria, China and Japan is 
Christian. * * We are now bound to Christianize Asia for the 
sake of America, if not for the sake of Christ. * * Are we 
ready as a denomination to accept this larger conception of 
the mission of the Church? * * The members of the committee 
frankly declare that it is this larger purpose which has gov- 
erned their minds in determining the outlines of this report." 

JUDSON AND CAREY REPUDIATED 

Now, brethren, do not these words sadly express 
the ripened religious idea of a church that has left 
its Lord and that has side-stepped its Lord's great 
commission — the commission as Judson understood 
it? 'as Carey felt it? as every true evangelist and 
minister has always conceived it? The Church is 
commanded to take out of the nations a people for 
His name, to save men, as brands from the burning. 
The Student Volunteer Movement well expressed it 
thus : "To go and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ 
to every man under the sun.'' 

The world's ripened conception, a conception ri- 
pened under satanic suns is that the mission of the 
Church is to establish a civilization Christian in 



THE EIPENED HARVEST 179 

Spirit and in passion. The harvest of the earth, re- 
ligiously, is ripe. 

How people have turned away from the faith 
once for all delivered unto the saints ! How they 
have denied the faith of the fathers ! How has the 
gold become dim! The churches to-day, many of 
them, are given over to things which are absolute 
blasphemy. In one the pews are empty, in another 
the baptismal waters are seldom stirred, in another 
the only recruits of the church are those that come 
in for a little social advantage. The real old-time 
evangelistic power has for the most part passed 
away. Instead, the churches are play houses and 
theaters and amusement centers. They are not 
preaching the old-time Gospel as it was preached 
in days of old. 

4. The harvest of the earth is ripe in the magnif- 
icence of the modern city. I was in Chicago a few 
weeks ago with my daughter. She came from 
Wheaton college to meet me, and to do some Christ- 
mas shopping. We did not do much shopping. We 
just walked about and looked around. That, any- 
way, is the most fun in shopping. We went to 
Marshall Field's. What a wonderful store ! How 
magnificent! How glorious I There were so many 
things to buy you could not decide to buy anything. 
There were so many, many things to attract the eye 
and to bewilder the mind that we could not decide 
on anything. We bought nothing but a doll and one 
or two little things, in Marshall Field's. Then we 
went to Kresge's and filled up ; got a lot of things. 
At Marshall Field's we rode up in esculators and 
came down in lightning express elevators. Myj! 
the wonder of it all. "From the country," you say. 



180 PEOPHECY SERMONS 

We grant it. We got hungry and went across the 
street to get lunch. Some one pointed out a res- 
taurant and we went in. All we had to do was to 
drop our nickels in a slot, and out came our order 
all ready to eat. We dropped a nickel or two in a 
slot and got a dish of soup. We went a little further 
along and dropped a few nickels, and got a dish of 
hot meat. I suppose it cooked itself. We could 
not see any cooks. We could not smell the cooking. 
The harvest of the earth is ripe in invention. 

5. The harvest of the earth is ripe in its learning. 

Philosophy is the ripened harvest of the wisdom of 
this world. 

The bane of philosophy is its attempt to know the 
unknowable, to explain the inexplicable, to compre- 
hend the incomprehensible. Such a quest has ever 
led to etherial vagaries and irrational theories. 

Humanism is the offspring of philosophy. To as- 
sert that the things of God can be rationally and 
scientifically accounted for, is an effort to lift man 
up to 'a level with God. To repudiate all of the 
things of Deity, for which man cannot rationally and 
scientifically account, is to bring God down to the 
level of man. In either case philosophy dares to 
humanize God, or else to deify man. 

Agnosticism is the offspring of philosophy. 

Philosophy is builded upon ^'reasonable explana- 
tions." It neither gives credence nor yields homage 
to unsolved mysteries, although God must ever re- 
main (apart from Divine revelation) an unsolved 
mystery. 

Philosophy thus repudiates God with "I do not 
know," and, "I cannot faith the unknowable," — and 
agnosticism is born. The parent differs from its off- 



THE EIPENED HAEVEST 181 

spring only in this: the parent seeks to know but 
can never by seeking find out God ; the offspring is 
content to confess "I do not know" and ''I do not 
care to bother myself about knowing/' 

Pantheism is the offspring of philosophy. 

Philosophy, in its quest for "first causes" has, now 
and then, in the utter despair of tangible results, 
fallen back on the vain supposition that there is an 
immaterial, invisible power working behind material 
manifestations — that back of the cosmos lies an 
"order" and a system of "forces" that governs mat- 
ter—this "order" or "force" is God. Thus has phil- 
osophy parented pantheism. 

Philosophy is more atheistic than Christian. It is 
more agnostic than atheistic, and more pantheistic 
than agnostic. 

The world in its wisdom is ripe. Its harvest is 
humanism, agnosticism, and pantheism and it stands 
condemned before God. 

6. The harvest of the earth is ripe in its sin. Con- 
sider the heinousness of sin as manifested in the 
immoralities of the age. Oh ! I know we are always 
talking about the better day and that everything 
is brighter and better than in the days of our fore- 
fathers. But, in spite of all that twaddle, crime is 
on the increase; divorce is on the increase; every- 
thing in the world that wrecks homes, and breaks 
hearts, is on the increase all over this country. The 
spirit of graft is on the increase. My brother-in-law 
and sister are here from New York city and they 
have been telling us some harrowing stories of the 
danger of living in New York. Do you know, I 
think in the heart of India, amid the darkest of the 



182 PEOPHECY SERMONS 

dark of India, in the thickest of the thick of India, 
you are safer than you are in New York city. 

Two weeks ago I went to Philadelphia, and a boy- 
hood friend of mine said to me, "Ed, there is not a 
man in the city of Philadelphia that is safe to-day." 
He described how he was home one night and there 
were two thugs, secreted, one, in one room and one, 
in another. They were waiting to rob him, and to 
take his life, if need be. They were without pity. 
Here is Cleveland', right at our doors, and you know, 
my friends, that every-day crime is on the increase 
in that city. Nobody knows how it is going to end. 
You can go to San Francisco and it is the same 
thing. In the city of Detroit and St. Louis and of 
Chicago it is the same thing. 

You say, "I think the world is getting better." 
That is not true. The harvest of the earth is ripe 
in its departure from God. When we emphasize the 
immoralities of the age in which we are living we 
would emphasize, even more, the corruption of the 
heart from which the things immoral proceed. 

IV. OUR LESSON BRINGS BEFORE US, THE 
STATEMENT: "THE TIME IS COME FOR 
THEE TO REAP." 

GREAT CATASTROPHES 

Very frequently, when great catastrophes like 
the Johnstown flood, or the tidal wave at Houston, 
or the devastating earthquake at San Francisco, or 
some awful fire like the Iroquois theater, or the sink- 
ing of some big steamer like the "Titanic" — when 
these catastrophes strike us square in the face then 
people say to me, "Mr. Neighbour, do you think 
that God Almighty is doing all this?" Perhaps not. 



THE RIPENED HARVEST 183 

but such things are surely rumblings of what God 
is going to do. This is not the day of judgment, 
this is the day of grace. Jesus Christ went into the 
city of Nazareth and they gave Him a Book, and He 
opened it and turned to the Scriptures where it is 
written : "This is the acceptable day of the Lord,'' 
and He closed the Book and gave it to the attendant. 
Then He sat down and said : "This day is the 
Scripture fulfilled in your ears." The very next 
words of the passage were these : "And the day of 
vengeance of our God," but He did not read that 
part of the verse. 

MAN'S DAY 

This is not the hour of vengeance. This is not the 
day of wrath. God has turned man loose and said to 
him, "Do your best." God sent Christ to die, after- 
ward God sent the Church to call out of the nations 
a people for His name. This present opportunity 
of salvation is the day of grace, and not the day of 
wrath. But, as we study the close of this 14th chap- 
ter of Revelation, the tribulation is upon the earth. 
Christ is sitting as the Son of Man, sickle in hand, 
upon a white cloud. The angel cries to Him : "The 
harvest of the earth is ripe and the time is come for 
Thee to reap." 

God never judges prematurely. Grace precedes 
judgment. Mercy precedes wrath. The time, then, 
for judgment is here, because men have refused 
Christ, and mercy, and love and pardon. 

IS CHRIST A FAILURE? 

Some one sitting down there says, "Mr. Neigh- 
bour, if the earth is going on fast into apostasy and 
into crime and sin ; if sin is waxing worse and worse. 



184 PEOPHECY SEEMONS 

then your Gospel is a failure." You need not tell 
me that. I already know it. You say, "You grant 
then that Christ has failed?" No, and yes. Christ 
came in all His mercy, came in all His love; came, 
and you rejected Him. You rejected His Cross, you 
spurned His love, you threw aside His mercy. 
Christ has failed only because of the hardness of 
men's hearts. That is the reason He failed. He 
failed because man failed. And now, the angel 
cries and says the time is come for the earth to be 
reaped. 

Listen. When did wrath fall on the old world? 
When did the Flood come? You say, "It was after 
Enoch." Yes. "And it was after Noah." Yes. "It 
was after one hundred and thirty years of faithful 
preaching." Yes. When did the Flood come? It 
came when God looked down from Heaven and saw 
the wickedness of man, and that every imagination 
of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continual- 
ly; then God said, The time is come to reap, and 
He thrust in His sickle — He sent the Flood, and He 
reaped the harvest of iniquity. 

Listen again. 

When did the wrath of God fall upon Sodom and 
Gomorrah? You say, "When the Sodomites had 
gone down and down in their morals and in their 
God-rejecting until they were nothing but a stench 
in the nostrils of God." You say, "When everything 
they touched was made foul, and everything they 
said was blasphemy." Yes. Then it was that God 
said: "The cry of the city has come up and I am 
come down to destroy it." And He wiped the twin 
cities of Sodom and Gomorrah from off the face of 
the earth. He reaped the harvest. 

Listen still again. 



THE EIPENED HARVEST 185 

When did God destroy the Canaanites? You say, 
"Not until every mercy had been extended ; not un- 
til in their wickedness, in their rebellion of heart, 
they knew not God and would not have Him." Yes, 
then God said: "I will give them up," and He or- 
dered them exterminated from the land. He reaped 
the harvest. 

When was it that Nineveh was destroyed? The 
tenderest verse to me in the Old Testament Scrip- 
tures is that one where Jonah has been preaching to 
the Ninevites, and God had spared the city. But 
Jonah became angry, and God said : **And should I 
not spare Nineveh, that great city wherein are more 
than six score thousand persons that cannot discern 
between their right hand and their left hand, and 
much cattle?" Oh ! the love of God. 

When was Nineveh destroyed? It was when, 
once more, she forgot her warning and her repentant 
tears, her sackcloth and her ashes, when she turned 
again into sin and God-rejection. Then God Al- 
mighty wiped Nineveh from the face of the earth. 
And the harvest was reaped. 

I want to tell you, my dear friends, Christ, sitting 
on the cloud, hears the angel say: "The harvest 
of the earth is ripe and the time is come for Thee to 
reap." 

The earth is hastening away from God. When 
Christ sends forth His angel reapers, the harvest 
will be ripe. 

The harvest will be ripe as it was ripe in Noah's 
day and in the days of Lot. 

The harvest will be ripe, as the Canaanites were 
ripe and as Nineveh was ripe. 



186 PEOPHECY SEEMONS 

God will not reap until man's day is full; until 
man's times are completed. 

God will not reap until the time has come for 
reaping — then will God thrust in His sickle. 

(1) I want you to notice to-night the reaping of 
the harvest of the earth. I guess you know by this 
time what that means. It is graphically described 
in the Book of Revelation, in the 16th chapter, in the 
pouring forth of the vials: 

THE SEVEN VIALS 

"And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the 
seven angels, Go your ways and pour out the vials of the 
wrath of God upon the earth." 

I have not time to develop this to-night. Some 
other night I will be glad to do it. I want you to 
notice that these vials are to be poured on the 
earth. For the time for God's judgment has come. 
**The harvest of the earth is ripe. Thrust in thy 
sharp sickle." That is what it means. 

MYSTIC BABYLON JUDGED 

The 17th chapter further illustrates our theme. 
It tells us about the judgment of the great whore, 
the woman that sat upon many waters, with whom 
the kings of the earth committed fornication, and 
the wine of whose fornication the inhabitants of 
the earth had drunk. This woman has written upon 
her forehead the name, *'Mystery, Babylon the 
Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abomination of 
the earth." Let us read : 

"And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of saints, 
and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus : and when I saw 
her I wondered with a great wonder." 

In the closing verses of this chapter is given the 



THE EIPENED HAEVEST 187 

judgment of the great whore that God put into the 
heart of the antichrist to fulfil. "They shall make 
her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and 
burn her with fire." The wrath of God, is poured 
forth on apostate Christendom, for the time to reap, 
has come. 

COMMERCIAL BABYLON JUDGED 

The next chapter shows the destruction of literal 
commercial Babylon : 

"And after these things I saw another angel come down, * * 
and he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the 
great is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils." 

If you want to you can read that for yourselves, 
after you go home, to-night. There is not in an^ 
language, there is not in the Word of God, any- 
thing descriptive of destruction, of death, of utter 
despair, like this. Listen: 

"Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death and 
mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with 
fire: for strong is the Lord God Who judgeth her. 

"And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornica- 
tion and lived in luxury with her, shall bewail her, and lament 
for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning. 

"Standing afar off for the fear of her torment saying, Alas, 
alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city ! for in one 
hour is thy destruction come." 

And then the merchants of the earth weep and 
mourn over her, and they cast dust on their heads, 
and the merchants of the seas stand on their ships 
far out from the shore, and they look at the burn- 
ing city and they cry, *'Alas.*' In one hour is their 
great wealth made desolate; and they see the 
smoke of her burning. 



188 PEOPHECY SEEMONS 

"THE CITIES OF THE NATIONS FALL" 

My friends, upon the great commercial centers of 
the world — upon New York, and Chicago, and Cleve- 
land, and New Orleans, and London, and Paris, and 
Berlin, and Petrograd, and Yokohoma and upon 
other great centers, the Lord God is going to pour 
forth the fury of His wrath. Oh ! there will be a great 
falling, a great cry, when the Lord, Who sits on the 
white cloud, thrusts in His sharp sickle and reaps the 
ripened harvest of the earth. How we are startled 
when we read : "And the cities of the nations fell." 

We have what we call great expositions. I 
preached a sermon when one of these great exposi- 
tions was being held, and I called it "the exhibition 
of man's folly." I went to one of these Expositions 
and I saw, I marvelled and I wondered. Did I say, 
"Oh! how wonderful is God"? No, I did not. Did 
I say, "Glory to God"? No, I did not. I said, "How 
great is man. Behold what man hath done" — God 
was forgotten, man was magnified. Then I went 
back to my home and I sat down and opened my 
Bible, and I read the story of how Nebuchadnezzar 
stood on the walls of Babylon and looked upon the 
greatest of world cities and said, "Is not this the 
great Babylon that I have builded by the might of 
my power and for the glory of my majesty?" As I 
sat with my opened Bible, I saw that the words of 
Nebuchadnezzar were no sooner uttered than God 
Almighty struck him down. And Nebuchadnezzar 
ate grass as the oxen eat it, and his body was wet 
with the dew of heaven for seven years, until he 
knew that the Most High God ruled all the king- 
doms of men ; until he gave glory to the God or 
Heaven. 



THE RIPENED HARVEST 189 

THE SIN OF CIVILIZATION 

The difficulty with civilization to-day is that God 
is not recognized, that God is not honored, that God 
is not glorified. It is the Deism of man, it is the 
glorying in man, that is the curse of the age. That 
is the reason that all this magnificent harvest of 
man's grandeur shall be smitten and stricken. One- 
third of the earth will be utterly wiped out and de- 
stroyed ; that is the reason her works shall be 
burned in the day when my Lord thrusts in His 
sickle and reaps. 

The earth will reel to and fro like a drunken man 
and all joy will be gone ; all light will be darkened, 
and there will be sorrow, sighing, and crying in the 
streets. At that time God will bring Babylon to 
His remembrance, and the commercialism of the 
day with all its Godless boasting will come up be- 
fore Him. Then will God pour out upon the earth 
the fierceness of the cup of His wrath. He will 
thrust in His sickle and reap the harvest of the 
earth. 

Does what I have been preaching sound very 
much like what I read a while ago from the "Sur- 
vey"? 

"We are now bound to Christianize Asia for the sake of 
America." 

Does the Word of God anticipate "a civilization 
that is Christian in spirit and in passion"? 

GATHERING WOOD TO BURN 

I want to tell you why I am not one with these 
post-millennial ministers. Bless their hearts, I love 
them. Oh! I wish the ministers of our land could 



190 PEOPHECY SERMONS 

Stand once more heart to heart, shoulder to shoulder, 
hand in hand, and go forth and preach the Gospel 
like we used to preach it. I want to tell you there is 
not a minister in this city, of any denomination, that 
I would not stand with in such a propaganda. It 
would be a joy to my soul, it would thrill my heart. 
But when it comes to standing with anybody, 
preacher or layman, in an effort to establish a civili- 
zation that I know, in my heart of hearts is going to 
be set on fire and that is hastening on to its over- 
throw, — I am not here. You are not going to get 
me to bring in any lumber for the bonfire. I am not 
out gathering material to make a flame. I cannot 
join hands with ministers of my own denomination 
or of any other denomination whose aim and pur- 
pose in preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ is to 
establish a civilization that is doomed to disaster. 

And I saw an angel sitting on a white cloud, he 
had a sickle in his hand, and I heard the voice of 
another angel saying: "Thrust in thy sickle, and 
reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.'* Hearken ! 
My Lord is coming soon. Sitting down-stairs with 
my father just before we came to church, he said: 
"Ed, do you know it cannot be long until our Lord 
comes ?" I thank God I have got a father like that. 
You ask me when I first began to believe this doc- 
trine? I always believed it. I have a father who 
loves the Book and believes in the old-time Gospel 
of Jesus Christ, and he said to me: "It cannot be 
long till He comes." The ripened harvest of the 
earth, all points that way. 

2. I want you to notice the hour of Israel's reap- 
ing. 

"And another angel came out from the altar, which had 
power over fire: and cried with a loud cry to him that had 



THE EIPENED HAEVEST 191 

the sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sickle, and gather the clus- 
ters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. 

"And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gath- 
ered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great wine- 
press of the wrath of God. 

"And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood 
came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the 
space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs." 

This vine of the earth is Israel. Poor Israel, 
how we love thee! How our heart aches for thee! 
It is not only the earth that is to be reaped, but 
Israel, the vine of the earth, is to be reaped. 

Let me give you two brief pictures of Israel's 
coming travail, one in Ezekiel and one in Jeremiah. 

(1) The first is in Ezekiel 22:4, beginning: 

"Thou art become guilty in thy blood that thou hast shed; 
and hast defiled thyself in thine idols. * * 

"Behold, the princes of Israel, every one were in thee to 
their power to shed blood. * * 

"Thou hast despised Mine holy things." 

Oh ! what a picture it is. 

"Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in 
the days that I shall deal with thee? I the Lord have spoken 
it, and will do it. 

"And I will scatter thee among the heathen, and despise 
thee in the countries, and will consume thy filthiness out 
of thee. 

"And thou shalt take thine inheritance in thyself in the 
sight of the heathen, and thou shalt know that I am the 
Lord. 

"And the Word of the Lord cometh unto me, saying, 

"Son of man, the House of Israel is to me become dross; 
all they are brass, and tin and iron, and lead, in the midst 
of the furnace. * * 

"As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, in the 
midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it: 
so will I gather upon you in mine anger and in my fury, 
and I will leave you there, and melt you. 

"Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of 
My wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof. 



192 PKOPHECY SERMONS 

"As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye 
be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that 1 
the Lord have poured out My fury upon you." 

Let me say one thing about it. When you take 
silver and put it in the melting pot and put the fire 
under it and get it hotter, and hotter, and hotter, — 
You say, **Oh ! what a horrid picture. To think 
that God would treat Israel that way." Wait! Go 
slow! When the silversmith, as he looks in, sees 
his own countenance shining in the silver; then 
quickly he withdraws it from the fire — the work is 
done, the silver is refined. And so God will throw 
Israel into the furnace of His wrath, until He sees 
mirrored within her the glory of His own counte- 
nance. Then He will draw His people to Himself 
and in His grace restore them to His heart of love. 

(2) Our second passage is in Jeremiah 30 :6, 7 : 

"Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with 
child? Wherefore do I see every man with his hands on 
his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into 
paleness. 

"Alas I for that day is great, so that none is like it : it is 
even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out 
of it." 

Before we enlarge on this let me add another 
Scripture or two. 

"And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was 
since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that 
time thy people shall be delivered" (Dan. 12:1). 

"For there shall be great tribulation, such as was not 
since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever 
shall be. 

"And except those days should be shortened, there should no 
flesh be saved : but for the elect's sake those days shall be 
shortened" (Matt. 24:21,22). 



THE BIPENED HARVEST 193 

JACOB AND ESAU 

How many of you ever read about Jacob and 
Esau? My, but Jacob was scared. There was Esau 
coming down the way with four hundred men. 
Jacob got down and all night long he cried out and 
prayed. He said: "Lord, I am scared to death. I 
know how I treated my brother and how I got his 
blessing ; how I ran away and have been gone these 
years. O, Lord, I have just had word that Esau is 
on the road ahead, he is coming down with four hun- 
dred men." Poor Jacob, you have another day to 
dread. It is coming. When Esau once more turns 
his face against Israel, poor Israel will cry aloud. 
How^ever it is the day of Jacob's trouble, a day that 
will turn the Jews back to God. 

Jacob had some more trouble about Joseph. It 
was after Joseph was reported dead and there was 
famine in the land. Things were getting dark for 
Jacob, and he sent to Egypt for corn. You know 
the whole story. It is all a beautiful type. The 
brothers were sorely pressed, 

"And they said one to another, We are verily guilty con- 
cerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, 
when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is 
this distress come upon us.'* 

There is a time of trouble still future for poor Is- 
rael, when God thrusts in His sickle and reaps. 
There is a time coming when poor Israel will be 
cast into the winepress of the wrath of Almighty 
God. Then Israel will say, "We verily turned 
against our Brother, our Christ, our Kinsman, our 
Redeemer. We spurned Him. We cried. His blood 
be on us and upon our children. Therefore is this 
misery come upon us." But just like Joseph could 



194 PROPHECY SERMONS 

not restrain himself, but wept, and kissed his broth- 
ers, and forgave them, so my Lord, His wrath ap- 
peased, will not restrain Himself; He will weep for 
His children, and yearn over them and forgive them, 
and restore them, and they will reign with Him in 
the land. 

Such is the story of the Man on the white cloud. 

Therefore, be ye also ready. My Lord is coming 
soon. You don't want to enter the tribulation. Be 
ready. We know not the hour nor the day, but 
His coming is imminent. Be ready. Enter the 
covert. Get into the cleft of the Rock, before the 
storm breaks. Will you trust Him to-night? Will 
you ? Oh ! flee to Christ. He will hide you. Surely 
you understand what the Bible means when it says^ 
*'Flee from the wrath to come.'* Will you flee? 

Will you do it now? 



VISIONS OF THE LAMB IN THE 
BOOK OF REVELATION 



VISIONS OF THE LAMB IN THE 
BOOK OF REVELATION 

Twenty centuries ago John the Baptist stood and 
cried, "Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away 
the sin of the world." 

Far back of John's day the Prophets of the Old 
Testament, both in testimony and in type, had fore- 
told of the Lamb. 

John the Baptist was certainly familiar with all 
of these types of our Lord, and therefore he spoke 
intelligently when he proclaimed Christ as their ful- 
fillment. 

To-night we are coming into the last Book of the 
Bible, the Book of Revelation. We are going to deal 
with that part of the Book that covers the period 
lying beyond this Church age. We will bring be- 
fore you visions of the Lamb as seen by John. Some 
of the scenes will be Heavenly and some will be 
earthly. May our God enable us as we speak. 

SCENE ONE 
A LAMB AS IT HAD BEEN SLAIN 

The first scene of the Lamb is in chapter 5. Be- 
fore we quote the verses which describe the Lamb, 
let us first give those which form the basis of the 
vision. 

A THRONE SET IN HEAVEN 

In the 4th chapter and verse 2, we have a throne 
set in Heaven, and upon that throne God the Father 
was sitting. He was "to look upon like a jasper and 



198 PROPHECY SERMONS 

a sardine stone/' A rainbow encircled the throne and 
round about the throne were four and twenty 
thrones, upon which the four and twenty elders did 
sit, clothed in white raiment and with victor's 
crowns on their heads. In the midst of the throne 
were the four Living Ones, who rest not day nor 
night saying: "Holy, holy, holy. Lord God Al- 
mighty, which was, and is, and is to come." 

*'Out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings 
and voices." 

These words plainly show that judgments are im- 
pending. 

In the right hand of the throne-sitter John saw a 
book, written "within and on the backside, sealed 
with seven seals." A cry was made: "Who is able 
to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?" 

"And no man in Heaven, nor in earth, neither un- 
der the earth, was able to open the book neither to 
look thereon." John wept much because no one 
could open the book. 

While John wept he heard a voice which said: 
"Weep not. Behold the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, 
the Root of David hath prevailed to open the book, 
and to loose the seven seals thereof." 

John turned quickly to see the voice that spoke 
and he beheld in the midst of the throne and of the 
four Living Ones and of the four and twenty elders, 
"a Lamb as it had been slain." The slain Lamb 
came and took the book from the right hand' of the 
throne-sitter. 

No sooner had the Lamb taken the book than all 
of those who encircled the throne fell down before 
the Lamb and with harps, and bowls of incense in 



VISIONS OF THE LAIVIB 199 

hand, broke forth in a wonderful song of worshipful 
praise : 

"And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to 
take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou wast 
slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy Blood out of 
every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 

"And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and 
we shall reign on the earth. 

"And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round 
about the throne and the beasts and the elders : and the num- 
ber of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thou- 
sands of thousands; 

"Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was 
slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, 
and honour, and glory, and blessing. 

"And every creature which is in Heaven, and on the 
earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all 
that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and 
glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, 
and unto the Lamb for ever and ever." 

A CORROBORATIVE SCRIPTURE 

Let US Stop long enough to consider the meaning 
of this marvelous scene. It may come to some of 
you as a surprise that we even suggest that God the 
Father is the throne-sitter in Revelation 4:2. Yet 
this must be the case. 

We ask you to follow us as we read from Daniel 
7 and verses 9 and 10. 

"I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of 
Days did sit. Whose garment was white as snow, and the hair 
of His head like the pure wool: His throne was like the fiery 
flame, and His wheels as burning fire. 

"A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him: 
thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand 
times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment was 
set, and the books were opened." 

The thrones of this verse are beyond doubt the 
thrones of Revelation 4. The thrones are '*cast 
down," that is they were "set" or "placed." 



200 PROPHECY SEEMONS 

The Ancient of Days Who sits in this passage is 
the same as the throne-sitter of Revelation 4. 

Daniel does not describe the Sealed Book, but 
Daniel does tell us that Christ stood before the 
throne and received from the Ancient of Days the 
investure of the Kingdom. Let us read verses 13 
and 14. 

*1 saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of 
Man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient 
of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. 

"And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a king- 
dom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him : 
His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not 
pass away, and His Kingdom that which shall not be de- 
stroyed. 

Putting the two visions together, we are con- 
vinced of the following facts : 

1. God the Father, the Ancient of Days, is to de- 
scend to the air, when Christ comes to receive unto 
Himself His own. 

2. God will hand over to Christ, the Lamb, the 
book which holds the title deeds to the earth, and 
which contains the judgments by which the title 
deeds are to be realized. 

3. The investure of the Kingdom will be given, 
by virtue of the work of the Cross. John saw a 
Lamb as it had been slain. 

SOME STRIKING LESSONS 

There are some lessons here that are well worth 
our consideration. 

1. The work of the Church is not to "bring in 
the Kingdom." The Kingdom is to be brought in b 
the judgments of Jesus Christ. 



VISIONS OF THE LAMB 201 

In Luke 19, we read of the nobleman, "who went 
into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom 
and to return." The "Kingdom is God's gift to the 
Son. 

There stands before you one preacher, and thank 
God there are many others likewise, who will have 
no part in this new effort to bring in the Kingdom 
apart from the bringing in of the King. 

We know that the Church is to take out of the na- 
tions a people for His name. We know that the 
world will not have Christ to reign over it, in this 
age. Christ is still the despised and the rejected. 
Christ is even now at the Father's right hand, re- 
ceived into Heaven ; and there He sits, awaiting the 
time of the restitution of all things. When the 
clock strikes the hour, Jesus Christ will come forth 
and establish His Kingdom at the end of His sword. 

2. The Lord Jesus Christ is to receive the King- 
dom by virtue of His work on Calvary. He is a 
"slain Lamb." 

Hear me — do those who preach the Blessed Hope 
of our Lord's Return leave out the story of the 
Blood. Impossible ! We know full well that every- 
thing connected with Christ's coming and reign is 
to be achieved only by virtue of the Blood of the 
Cross. 

How wonderful it all is ! The first scene of Jesus 
Christ as God's Lamb, is a slain Lamb. We are 
sorry for these preachers who preach without the 
Blood in the basin. They can certainly have neither 
part nor lot in this Heavenly scene. What would 
those who reject the Blood of the Cross as a "de- 
cadent dogma," or as "an unrighteous basis of sal- 
vation" do if they were suddenly lifted above these 



202 PEOPHECY SEEMONS 

earth scenes and brought face to face with this most 
marvelous meeting around the throne ! What would 
they do in the presence of the Lamb slain? 

Let us preach the Blood down here and we will be 
prepared to join with the raptured hosts around the 
throne of God in the air, as they worship the slain 
Lamb. 

"Five bleeding wounds He bears, 

Received on Calvary, 
They pour effectual prayers, 

They ever plead for me, 
Forgive him, oh forgive, they cry, 
Nor let the guilty sinner die." 

When the raptured saints first see Christ they 
will see Him as a Lamb slain ; when, later on, Christ 
returns to the Mount of Olives, Israel will see Him 
as a Lamb slain. **And one of them shall say. Lord, 
whence didst thou receive those wound marks in 
Thine arms?'* Yes, Jesus Christ will come forth 
" with dyed garments,'" He will be "red in His ap- 
parel," and "like one that treadeth the winefat." 

SCENE TWO 

THE OUTCOMERS FROM THE GREAT TRIBULATION 

AND THE LAMB 

There are two groups of outcomers in the 7th 
chapter of Revelation ; and two groups, one in chap- 
ter 14, and one in chapter 15. Perhaps the one hun- 
dred and forty-four thousand, the first group of 
Revelation 7, is the same as the one hundred and 
forty-four thousand the group in Revelation 14; 
perhaps, also, the great multitude in chapter 7, is the 
same as the multitude in chapter 15. If this is the 
case, the 7th chapter introduces us to both groups 
and the 14th and 15th chapters give us visions of 



VISIONS OF THE LAMB 203 

the two groups at a later period of the tribulation. 
Let us consider these groups, one at a time. 

I. THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-FOUR 
THOUSAND. 

In chapter 7, four angels are seen holding back 
the four winds of the earth, "until the servants of 
our God are sealed in their foreheads." 

John heard the number of them who were sealed, 
and it was one hundred and forty and four thou- 
sand, twelve thousand of all the tribes of Israel. 

In chapter 14 the one hundred and forty and four 
thousand are revealed as standing on Mount Zion ; 
they are bearing the Father's name on their fore 
heads ; and they are standing with the Lamb. 

That Mount Zion is the literal mount, all Scrip- 
ture corroborates; that the one hundred and forty 
and four thousand are of Israel is quite as certain. 
The one hundred and forty and four thousand of 
chapter 7 are said to be the sealed of Israel; the 
similar number of chapter 14 are described as "re- 
deemed from men, first fruits unto God and to the 
Lamb," 

They are not first-fruits from among the Gentiles, 
because, in point of time, the great multitude of 
chapter 7 which are Gentiles, preceded them. 

We take them to be Israelites. Perhaps the testi- 
mony of the two witnesses, of chapter 11, had some- 
thing to do with their bearing the Father's name. 
They are "not defiled with women for they are vir- 
gins." Evidently, they were more than personally 
pure and virtuous. They refused to join league 
with the antichrist. They stood aloof from the 



204 PKOPHECY SERMONS 

apostasy described under the "great whore," in chap- 
ter 17. 

These one hundred and forty and four thousand 
stood on Mount Zion and with them stood the 
Lamb. They must have suffered much for Christ. 
One cannot refrain of thinking of how Paul de- 
scribed his persecutions and trials, and then said, 
**but the Lord stood with me." 

In the air above, John hears and sees wonderful 
things. Get the picture clearly before you. On 
Mount Zion stands the Lamb with these. His vir- 
gin followers ; above them and in honor of them, 
a hallelujah chorus breaks forth. Listen to the 
Scripture which describes that scene : 

"And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the Mount Zion, 
and with Him an hundred forty and four thousand, having 
His Father's name written in their foreheads. 

"And I heard a voice from Heaven, as the voice of many 
waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the 
voice of harpers harping with their harps : 

"And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, 
and before the four beasts, and the elders : and no man could 
learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, 
which were redeemed from the earth. 

"These are they which were not defiled with women; for 
they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whith- 
ersoever He goeth. These were redeemed from among men, 
being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. 

"And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are with- 
out fault before the throne of God." 

How blessed is this! How precious to contem- 
plate ! Here are the first fruits from among Christ's 
own racial people. They are to follow Him whither- 
soever He goeth. Above them the hosts of Heaven 
'are breaking forth with a song that is applicable 
to, and can therefore only be learned by these fol- 
lowers of the Lamb. 



VISIONS OF THE LAMB 205 

Beloved, I want to be there, don't you? I want 
to stand above the earth scenes and join my voice in 
that glad acclaim that will rend the Heaven in be- 
half of those who have received the Father's mark in 
their foreheads. Surely those who stand on Mount 
Zion with the Lamb will somehow catch inspira- 
tion and encouragement from the song that is sung. 
It will be as the voice of many waters, and as the 
voice of a great thunder. It will lend new strength 
to the hundred and forty-four thousand. They will, 
the more gladly, press on in their separation unto 
God and the Lamb. 

II. THE GREAT MULTITUDE THAT NO 
MAN COULD NUMBER.— The Second Group. 

In chapter 7 this multitude was seen of John af- 
ter he had seen the one hundred and forty-four 
thousand. It is not difficult to place them. They 
are not Jews, for they are an innumerable host out 
of *'all nations, and kindreds, and people, and 
tongues." 

This multitude are clothed in white robes and they 
hold palms in their hands. They stand before the 
throne of God and of the Lamb. They are there be- 
cause they are Blood-washed. Hear them, as with 
loud voice they say: '^Salvation unto our God Who 
sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb." 

What a blessed hour is this ! No sooner will the 
great multitude have ceased their glad acclaim, than 
all the angels who stand round about the throne 
and the four Living Ones and the four and twenty 
elders will fall upon their faces and worship God, 
and break forth in one grand magnificat: "Amen: 
Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving. 



206 PROPHECY SERMONS 

and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God 
for ever and ever." 

The 15th chapter carries us to a later scene. The 
group may be the same as the great multitude of 
chapter 7, but if it is another group, it is only a 
group of added outcomers, who have either been 
martyred or raptured as the tribulation sweeps on 
over the earth in increasing power. 

In chapter 15 we read: 

"And I saw another sign in Heaven, great and marvellous, 
seven angels having the seven last plagues ; for in them is 
filled up the wrath of God. 

"And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire : and 
them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over 
his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his 
name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. 

How blessed is this! Brethren, again I say, "I 
want to be there, don't you?" 

Up above the earth scenes these redeemed ones 
will have been taken. Under their feet is a sea of 
glass, mingled with fire. There they stand; those 
who had refused the mark of the beast, and the 
number of his name ; those who had gotten victory 
over the beast and over his image. 

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego got victory 
over Nebuchadnezzar and his image and were cast 
into the fire; while with them walked the Son of 
God. They came out unhurt. 

These overcomers and upcomers of Revelation 
15 got victory over the antichrist and his image, and 
they, with Christ, walked above the fire; they saw 
the fire shooting down upon those who had persecut- 
ed them unto the death. 

My friend, R. V. Miller, of North Carolina 
preached the other day in this pulpit. He told us 



VISIONS OF THE LAMB 207 

how he had stood on one of the mountains around 
his native home, Asheville, N. C. ; and how he had 
beheld the storm beneath his feet. There he stood 
in the glory of the blazing sunshine of God's un- 
dimmed sun, far above the storm. 

Well, bless God, we too will one day stand above 
a storm far worse than ever swept across the val- 
leys of the Blue Ridge mountains. We will stand be- 
fore the throne of God and upon a sea of glass, 
mingled with fire. Beneath us the earth will reel 
to and fro as a drunken man ; we will hear the angel 
trumpeters as they pronounce the earth woes; we 
will see the angels pour forth the vials of God's 
wrath upon a world that rejected the Lord Jesus 
Christ, and followed hard after the antichrist. But, 
bless God, we will be above the storm. 

We will see these slain or raptured saints who 
come up, out of the great tribulation ; will behold 
them with harps in their hands and we will hear 
their song. 

What song? Hear me — **And they sing the song 
of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the 
Lamb." 

THE SONG OF MOSES AND THE LAMB 

Shall we stop long enough to read a little of the 
song of Moses? There were two songs Moses 
sang. One of them is in Exodus 15 and the other 
in Deuteronomy 32. 

THE FIRST SONG 

Remember its occasion. The children of Israel 
had passed out of Egypt under the blood of the 
lamb. Being pursued by Pharaoh and his hosts, 



208 PKOPHECY SEEMONS 

God opened the sea and led them through as on dry 
land. After all Israel stood in safety, Pharaoh and 
his hosts were overthrown in the sea. When Moses 
saw God's great deliverance, he sang his song. We 
can but quote some of the more striking verses : 

**Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto 
the Lord, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the Lord, for He 
hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he 
thrown into the sea. 

*The Lord is my strength and song, and He is become my 
salvation : He is my God, and I will prepare Him a habita- 
tion : my father's God, and I will exalt Him. 

"The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is His name. 

"Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath He cast into the sea : 
his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea. 

"The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom 
as a stone. 

"Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power: 
Thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy. 

"And in the greatness of Thine excellency Thou hast over- 
thrown them that rose up against Thee: Thou sentest forth 
Thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble. 

"And with the blast of Thy nostrils the waters were gath- 
ered together, the floods stood upright as a heap, and the 
depths were congealed in the heart of the sea. 

"The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide 
the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw 
my sword, my hand shall destroy them. 

"Thou didst blow with Thy wind, the sea covered them: 
they sank as lead in the mighty waters. 

"Who is like unto Thee, O Lord, among the gods? who is 
like Thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing won- 
ders? 

"Thou stretchedst out Thy right hand, the earth swallowed 
them. 

"Thou in Thy mercy hast led forth the people which Thou 
hast redeemed : Thou hast guided them in Thy strength unto 
Thy holy habitation." 

"Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain 
of Thine inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which Thou hast 
made for Thee to dwell in; in the sanctuary, O Lord, which 
Thy hands have established. 

"The Lord shall reign for ever and ever." 



VISIONS OF THE LAMB 209 

No wonder that the multitude in Heaven who have 
been saved by the Blood of the Lamb, just as the 
children of Israel were ; no wonder that those who 
were saved from great persecution and the anti- 
christ's hatred, just as the children of Israel were 
saved from Pharaoh's cruel hand, will sing this 
song of Moses and the Lamb. 

We have the "Creation," set to music, and we 
have "Elijah," set to music, but the music of the 
Song of Moses and the Lamb, we will not hear un- 
til that day we shall hear it in the air. I tell you^ 
I want to be there, I do — don't you? 

THE SECOND SONG OF MOSES 

This song was sung after the wilderness experi- 
ences were ended. Moses is about to pass on to his 
reward. Before the assembled children of Israel he 
spake all the words of his song. He recounted the 
way the Lord had led Israel and how Israel had 
left the Lord; then he gave prophecy of how the 
Lord would finally save His people from all their 
adversaries. The song closes with these memorable 
words : 

"If I whet My glittering sword, and Mine hand take hold on 
judgment; I will render vengeance to Mine enemies, and will 
reward them that hate Me. 

"I will make Mine arrows drunk with blood, and My sword 
shall devour flesh; and that with the blood of the slain and of 
the captives, from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy. 

"Rejoice, O ye nations, with His people: for He will 
avenge the blood of His servants, and will render vengeance 
to His adversaries, and will be merciful unto His land, and to 
His people. 

"And Moses came and spake all the words of this song 
in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshea the son of Nun." 

No wonder the Holy Spirit calls the song of the 



210 PROPHECY SERMONS 

tribulation saints the Song of Moses and the Lamb. 
No wonder the Song of Moses is linked with the 
Song of the Lamb, because the Song of Moses was 
the Song of the Lamb. 

And so will the outcomers of the great tribula- 
tion sing and say : 

"Great and marvellous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; 
just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints. 

**Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? 
for Thou only art holy : for all nations shall come and worship 
before Thee; for Thy judgments are made manifest." 

TWO IMPORTANT LESSONS 

Before we pass from these outcomers of the tribu- 
lation we must suggest two things more, 

L A question answered. Many times have we 
been asked: Will any one be saved after those "in 
Christ" have been raptured? We apply our present 
study to the answer of that question. A great multi- 
tude from every nation, kindred, people and tongue 
will be saved after the rapture. Saved? Yes. 
Saved when? Out of the great tribulation. Saved 
how? By the Blood of the Lamb. Bless God the 
scarlet cord began when God slew the beast in the 
Garden of Eden to secure skins to clothe the naked 
pair; from that hour the trail of the Blood is seen 
all along the line. Age has come and gone, but sal- 
vation by the Blood is always the one way of life. 
"Without the shedding of blood there is no remis- 
sion." 

When the Church is raptured there will be many 
turning to the Lord. After death it is too late, but 
as long as people remain alive and on earth, they 
may be saved, if they will believe in the Lord Jesus 
Christ and accept His atoning work. 



VISIONS OF THE LAMB 211 

Thank God for the outcomers and the upcomers 
from the great tribulation. Thank God they will 
wear robes washed white in the Blood of the Lamb. 

A STRIKING ALTERNATIVE 

2. We cannot close this part of the message until 
we catch a glimpse of one other group. This group 
is set forth in chapter 14, between the story of the 
one hundred and forty and four thousand and the 
saints who refused to worship the beast or to re- 
ceive the number of his name. The group includes 
all of the unsaved earth dwellers. 

An angel is giving solemn warning. He is heard 
to say with a loud voice: 

"If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive 
his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 

"The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, 
which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his in- 
dignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone 
in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the 
Lamb : 

"And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and 
ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the 
beast and his image, and whenever receiveth the mark of 
his name." 

A terrible alternative, therefore, will be placed be- 
fore every earth dweller. He can take his own 
choice. He can receive the Lord Jesus Christ and 
be hated and hounded by the antichrist until his 
life yields to the tortures of martyrdom; or else he 
can refuse the Lord Jesus Christ and be tormented 
with fire and brimstone in the presence of the Lamb, 
forever and forever. 

Which is the better of the two alternatives? A 
present relief under a false Christ, awaiting a smoke 
of torment that shall ascend up forever and ever, 



212 PEOPHECY SEEMONS 

with no rest day or night ; or, a present martyrdom 
under the antichrist and an assured salvation with 
Christ forever and ever? 

This alternative is what all earth dwellers must 
face during the great tribulation. 

Now my dear friends, you can reject the Word of 
God if you will. For my part, I believe every word 
of it. During the tribulation period the man who 
refuses the mark of the beast and the number of his 
name will have a hard road to travel. He can nei- 
ther buy nor sell. He will be persecuted unto the 
death. However, if one receives the mark of the 
beast, he will be insured immunity from satan's 
wrath. He will have an easy time of it. 

Think so? Hold a minute! Immunity from 
satan's wrath will immediately place one under the 
wrath of God. Every man who follows the anti- 
christ must drink of the cup of the wrath of God. 

At last the day of her reward came. How beauti- 
ful and how wonderful the words which describe the 
scene when at last the two hearts came together 
and the marriage took place : *'Who is this that com- 
eth up from the wilderness, leaning upon her Be- 
loved?" 

Oh, my brethren, let us never waver in our fidelity 
to our Lord. Let the world allure us, let it woo and 
let it call, we have One Whom, having not seen, we 
love." We are hastening along the way toward 
the marriage. We are talking of the Lamb of God 
by day, and we are dreaming of Him by night. Our 
one constant prayer is, **Come, Lord Jesus, come 
quickly." 



VISIONS OF THE LAMB 213 

THE MARRIAGE SUPPER 

After the marriage comes the marriage supper. 

"And he said unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are 
called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith 
unto me, These are the true sayings of God.'* 

You have been to a marriage supper that did great 
credit to man. Have you not? Money was not 
spared; the feast was sumptuously prepared, and 
lavishly served. Perhaps a few hundred guests 
might have graced the occasion. 

But, what think you? Have you ever heard or 
ever dreamed of a feast so grand, or a multitude so 
great, as the one which awaits us at the marriage 
supper of the Lamb? 

No wonder that Christ said: "Blessed is he that 
shall eat bread in the Kingdom of God.'' No won- 
der that John wrote: "Blessed are they that are 
called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.*' This 
supper is named by Christ, "A GREAT SUPPER." 

Others may make light of this supper, and go 
their way, one to his farm and another to his 
merchandise ; but for our part, we are ready to count 
all else but refuse, that we may know Christ and be 
found robed and ready for the feast. 

Of course some one sitting down there wants to 
know if we consider this a literal feast. Some one 
might even scout the idea that we will actually eat 
and drink, after we have been raptured and given 
a body like unto His glorious body. 

May we ask such an one : Did Christ not eat with 
the disciples after His resurrection? Listen to this: 
"And they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish, and 
of an honeycomb, and He took it and did eat before 
them" (Luke 24:42), 



214 PROPHECY SERMONS 

Did not Christ say concerning the Lord's Supper : 
*'I will not eat of the fruit of the vine, until the 
Kingdom of God shall come" (Luke 22:18) f 

Both of these passages must be taken literally. 
Therefore, if Christ has eaten once, since His resur- 
rection, and if He has told us that He will eat again, 
why should we not accept the "marriage supper" as 
a literal supper? 

The Tree of Life bearing, each months twelve 
manner of fruit, is not a matter of mere ornament. 
If we will study the Bible, we will get away from 
the idea that in the resurrection we are mere ideas 
floating along, unknown and unknowable, on the 
ocean of eternity. 

The rapture is literal and personal and corporeal. 
Everything will be tangible in the age to come. We 
will sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in 
the Kingdom of God. We will, of course, possess 
deathless, and bloodless bodies, but they will be lit- 
eral bodies. Our intelligencies will be greatly quick- 
ened, not lessened. **We shall know as we are 
known." 

And thus we live, looking for that Blessed Hope 
which will include a feast far more magnificent and 
sumptuous than any mortal has ever known or 
dreamed. "Blessed are the called to that marriage 
supper of the Lamb." 

THIRD SCENE 
THE MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB 

In chapter 19 we approach end scenes. The great 
tribulation is about to pass into history. The 
great whore is judged. A voice is heard to come 
from the throne which says : "Praise our God', all ye 



VISIONS OF THE LAMB 215 

His servants, and ye that fear Him, both small 
and great." Following this we read : 

''And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and 
as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thun* 
derings, saying, Alleluia : for the Lord God omnipotent reign- 
eth. 

"Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for 
the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made 
herself ready. 

"And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine 
linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness 
of saints." 

What a gracious hour is set forth in these verses — 
the marriage and the marriage supper ! No wonder 
the command was given, "Write, Blessed are they 
who are called." Praise God — we are called and ef- 
fectually called, if we have accepted Jesus Christ 
as our Saviour, Lord and Coming King. 

The scene before us is a time of joy and rejoicing; 
it is a time for praise and hallelujahs : it is a time 
for shoutings and for song. "Let us be glad and re- 
joice, for the marriage of the Lamb hath come." 

How wearily the centuries have rolled along. 
How longingly the Church has awaited the day of 
the marriage. 

Yet the delay has had its purpose. The Bride 
must make herself ready for the nuptials in the sky. 

ELIEZER AND REBEKAH 

There was a time when Eliezer said to Rebekah, 
"Will you go?*' And the maiden gave the promise 
back, "I will go." Then by the morning's light the 
journey across the sands began. It was a long way, 
and the sun was hot; but close by Rebekah's side 
rode Abraham's faithful servant, the one to whom 
his master had committed all his goods. This Elie- 



216 PKOPHECY SEEMONS 

zer lightened the trials of the journey by ''talking 
of Isaac." And then, with the journey done, came 
the meeting in the field and ''Isaac came from the 
way of the well Lahairoi; * * and he lifted up his 
eyes, and saw, and behold, the camels were coming." 
"And Rebekah lifted up her eyes and saw * * Isaac." 

There came a time, with each of us, when the 
Holy Spirit said, "Will you go?" We gave response, 
"I will go." As we journey along the way, the 
Holy Spirit, unto Whom God has committed all His 
goods, is taking of the things of Christ and showing 
them unto us. How often does He cheer us along 
the way. He talks of Christ Jesus. He assures our 
hearts that the Lord is "faithful and true ;" that He 
will surely come forth by the way of the well. 

What a meeting that will be ! "We shall be sat- 
isfied when we awake in His likeness ;" we shall re- 
joice when we see Him Whom our soul loveth. 
And Christ, will He be satisfied? Yes, He will see of 
the travail of His soul and be satisfied. 

Then, after the meeting, come the rewards for 
faithfulness in service and in life, and rewards for 
fidelity to the faith. The Bride arrayed in these 
"righteous acts," by which she merits praise, will be 
presented, and the marriage will take place. 

Blessed hour! Christ will present us to Himself 
a "glorious Church, without spot or blemish or any 
such thing." His Blood will have washed us and 
made us white ; our righteous acts will be added to 
manifest our earth fidelity to our Saviour and our 
Lord — and we will stand robed and ready for the 
marriage. 



VISIONS OF THE LAMB 217 

ADAM'S SIDE OPENED 

There was a time when God put Adam to sleep 
and from his side He took a rib, "and closed up the 
flesh instead thereof; and of the rib, which the Lord 
God had taken from the man, made He a woman, 
and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, 
This is noAV bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh ; 
she shall be called woman (from man)." 

God's actions in the Garden of Eden shone forth 
with a new luster, when we saw in that act, a type 
of the Last Adam, God's Second Man^ and His 
Bride. 

Upon the Cross Christ drooped His weary head 
and died. His side was pierced, and from that riven 
side a Bride was formed. That Bride shall be pre- 
sented to Christ by the Father, and the marriage 
will take place. 

Yes, Christ has loved the Church and He hath 
given Himself for it; He hath nourished and cher- 
ished it Yes, "we are members of His body, of His 
flesh, and of His bones." 

How our hearts long for the day when the mar- 
riage shall be consummated. 

THE SHULAMITE 

The Song of Solomon gives the story of the Shula- 
mite and her shepherd lover. How varied were her 
experiences as, for a while, her lover was hid to her 
eyes. Her brothers connived against her and sent 
her away to catch the "foxes that spoiled the vines." 
Solomon took her to his court and brought every- 
thing that wealth and honor and worldly glory could 
bring before her to woo her to himself, and to steal 



218 PEOPHECY SERMONS 

her heart's affection away from her shepherd lover. 
The court ladies gave Solomon aid. Everything 
seemed set against her marriage to her one true love. 
The Shulamite, 'mid all the glittering grandeur of 
earthly glory, never moved from her first love. She 
talked of her shepherd to the court women ; she 
praised him before Solomon; she talked of him by 
day; and by night, upon her bed, she dreamed of 
him. Her one constant cry was, **Oh that I might 
find him whom my soul loveth." Her one plea was, 
that her shepherd lover might come to her over the 
mountains of separation. 

THE SUPPER OF THE GREAT GOD 

It will be well in passing to merely note another 
supper, which will soon follow the marriage supper. 
It is scheduled to occur on the earth. It is called 
the "Supper of the Great God," and is described in 
the chapter which follows the marriage supper of 
the Lamb. 

"And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with 
a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of 
heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper 
of the great God; 

''That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of cap- 
tains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, 
and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both 
free and bond, both small and great.'* 

What a contrast is this to the "supper in the air"? 
Surely the last supper will be called, because the 
former supper was set at naught. Let us all be 
found in Him, robed and ready for the marriage sup- 
per of the Lamb. 



VISIONS OF THE LAMB 219 

FOURTH SCENE 
THE BRIDE THE LAMB'S WIFE 

We have now passed beyond the thousand years. 
We stand over against a Scriptural post-millennial 
vision. 

The 45th Psalm gives us a beautiful story of the 
queen, w^ho is, of course, the Bride of Christ, mar- 
ried. It is the story of Christ as King. He has 
just left the "ivory palaces" whereby they made Him 
glad. He has come down the skies with His drawn 
sword. The Queen, who is to reign with Him, is at 
His side. She enters into the thousand-year reign 
the consort of her Heavenly Husband. 

The 20th of Revelation carries us beyond the time 
of the Davidic reign. The new heaven and the new 
earth have now come into view. All sorrow and all 
tears and all pain have passed away. There will be 
no more death. God's elect have inherited not alone 
the Kingdom, but they have now "inherited all 
things." God is here. He is His people's God, and 
they are His sons. 

As John sees this wondrous sight, the angel caus- 
es to pass before him, in vision, the all-glorious des- 
tiny of the Bride, the Lamb's Wife. Where is she, 
and what is her lot? 

John describes his vision, as follows : 

"And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high 
mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, 
descending out of Heaven from God, 

"Having the glory of God : and her light was like unto a 
stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal." 

This city is the destiny of the Lamb's Wife. It 
carries its name after the name of the Bride. As the 
earthly Jerusalem was the city of the great God, 



220 PROPHECY SERMONS 

chosen and adorned for God's earthly people, so will 
this Heavenly Jerusalem be God's city, chosen and 
adorned for His Heavenly people. 

One finds great delight in sitting down and med- 
itating on each of the Divine descriptions of this 
wonderful city. Its gates of pearl; its streets of 
pure gold ; its walls of precious stones ; its river of 
pure water, and its Tree of Life, all charm and 
quicken the heart. But the chief glory of that city 
is God and the Lamb. 

THE GLORY OF THE CITY 

The Lamb's Wife is not to be isolated and 
marooned even in a most gorgeous city, and kept 
away from her Lord. The Lamb's Wife is not to be 
exiled on some **Beautiful Isle of Somewhere." Hear 
the more sure Word of Prophecy : 

Revelation 21 ,22 : "And I saw no temple therein : for the 
Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it." 

Revelation 21:23: "And the City had no need of the sun, 
nor of the moon, to shine in it, for the glory of God did lighten 
it, and the Lamb is the light thereof." 

Those who inhabit this city are those whose names 
are written in the Lamb's Book of Life ; on the walls 
are the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb ; 
the River of Life proceeds from the throne of God 
and of the Lamb. 

It is blessed to observe that the last picture we 
have in the Bible, the picture which describes the 
blessed and eternal glory of the redeemed and the 
city of their inheritance, is so filled with that name 
of Christ, the Lamb of God. All of this at once and 
forever magnifies the Cross of Christ. 

Those who have cast away from their faith all 
trust and delight in the Blood of the slain Lamb 



VISIONS OF THE LAMB 221 

will do well to linger long over this final story. 
They will do well to note the revised rendering of 
Revelation 22:14: ^'Blessed are they who wash their 
robes, that they may have right to the Tree of Life, 
and enter in through the gates into the City." 

If the name for Christ with which the Book of 
Revelation closes is the Lamb, it is no wonder that 
those who have part in the joys of the city are those 
who are washed in the Blood of the Lamb. 

Let me plead with you, with all my soul — run to 
the door of your heart and see that the Blood is 
sprinkled there! Without the Blood you must die; 
with it, you shall have right of way into the city 
of the New Jerusalem. 

It is said that during the war of the sixties, a man, 
George Steward by name. President of the Christian 
Commission, came up to the lines and was halted 
by the soldier on picket duty. The countersign 
was demanded and poor Stewart having left head- 
quarters without getting the password, was com- 
pelled to turn back. Finally after an eight-mile ride 
he once more approached the outposts of the union 
camp. **Halt!" was the cry of the picket. "The 
countersign, please sir!'' was the next command. 
Stewart gave the password and started through the 
lines. Then, suddenly he reigned in his horse, and 
looking back, he cried to the soldier on picket duty, 
"Young man do you know the countersign to Heav- 
en?" "That I do, sir," was the reply. "And what 
is it?" The young soldier answered in a sure 
voice: "It is this sir: *The Blood of Jesus Christ His 
Son cleanseth us from all unrighteousness.' " "Cor- 
rect, who told you," said Stewart? And the soldier 
answered, "You are the very man who told me, your- 
self, sir. You are the man who led me to Christ." 



222 PKOPHECY SERMONS 

Beloved friends, remember it is only those who 
know the power of the Blood of Christ, who can 
enter in through the gate into the City. 

I trust you can all join me in these few verses, in 
which I have sought to express my own joy- in a 
full and blessed salvation. 

My sins are all gone, and my heart is blest 
In my Lord on His Father's throne; 
Tranquil and calm my soul doth rest, 
Never a cloud weighs on my breast, 
God's perfect will is my constant quest, 
Trusting Thee, Christ, mine own, mine own, 
Trusting Thee, Christ alone. 

Glad songs in the night sound forth on the air. 

The riches of grace making known; 

Happy and blest, beyond compare, 

Willing my joy with all to share, 

I praise the Lord and His grace declare. 

Praising Thee, Christ, mine own, mine own, 

Praising Thee, Christ, alone. 

My heart is overwhelmed with His love replete; 
Greater love no mortal hath known; 
Precious His love, His love complete ; 
Worshiping Him, I clasp His feet 
And love His love, and my tryst I keep, 
Loving Thee, Christ, mine own, mine own. 
Loving Thee, Christ, alone. 



THE DARKNESS— THE LAMP 
THE DAWNING DAY 



THE DARKNESS— THE LAMP— 
THE DAWNING DAY 

II Peter 1:19 

Prophecy holds a prominent place in the Word 
of God. From the first chapter of Genesis to the last 
chapter of Revelation there was no hesitancy upon 
the part of the Spirit to foreshadow coming events. 

The Old Testament was filled with many plain 
and positive prophecies concerning the birth, min- 
istry, death, resurrection and ascension of our Lord. 
These prophecies were fulfilled to the letter — not a 
jot or a tittle was left incomplete. 

The Old Testament also presented striking proph- 
ecies concerning the history of nations ; these proph- 
ecies covered not only the centuries lying before 
them, and up to the birth of Christ, but they passed 
on, far beyond, and over-reached even the present 
moment of national life. 

He, who will trouble himself to study prophecy, 
will find that God spoke of coming events with a 
certainty that would stagger most historians in re- 
cording past events. 

Not only this, but he who knows history and is 
familiar with the Prophetic Word, knows that, dur- 
ing the centuries, history has been, step by step, the 
unfolding of prophecy. 

So many as twenty-four pre-written statements 
concerning the death of Christ were fulfilled in one 
day. The wonder is, that many of these statements 
were recorded, more than one thousand years be- 
fore their fulfillment. 



226 PROPHECY SERMONS 

The promise of the "coming Seed'* was made to 
Adam four thousand years before Christ was born. 

No one can deny that history has proved the in- 
tegrity of what was once a "more sure Word of 
prophecy/' but is now "prophecy fulfilled." 

Granted ? Certainly, it must be granted ! 

But, that is not all. There are many prophecies 
yet unfulfilled — prophecies that look on through 
coming days and outline events yet future. 

Are these prophecies "made sure"? 

Are prophecies unfulfilled, less reliable than proph- 
ecies fulfilled? 

When can the prophecies of God be proclaimed 
trustworthy ? Not until they are verified by history ? 
For very shame ! 

Were the prophecies, now, long since, so minute- 
ly and so manifestedly fulfilled, not "more sure" 
before history came along and established them? 

We are standing upon the very brink of another 
rapid unfolding of the Prophetic Word. Already the 
scroll is beginning to unroll, and, day by day, before 
our very eyes, history is fast running past us into 
the mold that prophecy formed for it, twenty or 
more centuries ago. 

Only blinded eyes can fail to see the significance 
of current events. 

Only those with clouded vision have failed to 
grasp something of the momentous meanings of the 
present hour. 

The panoramic display of daily happenings is 
swiftly passing by, and as it passes, sentence upon 
sentence of the Prophetic Word of God is transfig- 
ured into history. 



DARKNESS— LAMP— DAWNING DAY 227 

But this is not all. Much of the Prophetic Word 
— the very core of it, is yet unfulfilled. God has 
cast before us, not the shadow, nor the profile of 
coming events, but their very substance. 

We have a Word of Prophecy MADE SURE. 

We have a Word of Prophecy, penned of God, 
and it must come to pass. 

We have a more sure Word of Prophecy, penned 
of God, to which we do well that we take heed. 

When this Prophetic Word has become history; 
when we stand with Christ in glory, and look back 
upon the history of the ages, we will proclaim: 
**There hath not failed one word of all that was 
prophesied.'* "His story" of coming events will 
then be certified "history.** 

The supreme event of unfulfilled prophecy is the 
Coming of the Lord. 

Around Him, "the Sun of Righteousness" and 
around His revealing, revolve all the lesser lights of 
future happenings. 

Every thing is hastening toward the consummate 
glory of the coronation of Christ. He is coming 
back again — coming not to die, but to be admired, 
received, and crowned. 

No marvel then that Peter, in the chapter which 
we read (II Peter i), told how an abundant entrance 
might be obtained into the everlasting Kingdom of 
the Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. 

No marvel that Peter, as long as he was in the 
body, determined to stir up the pure minds of the 
saints upon this very thing. 

No marvel that Peter, after his decease, would 
have the saints to ever keep in mind the Coming of 
the Lord. 



228 PROPHECY SERMONS 

With what glow did the Apostle record his own 
foregleam of the power and the coming of the Lord 
Jesus Christ, which he beheld when he was with 
Christ on the transfiguration mount. 

And then, to those who failed that blessed sight, 
he said : "We have also the Prophetic Word made 
sure ; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed in 
your hearts, as unto a lamp that shineth in a dark 
place, until the day dawn and the day star arises." 

As we stand, distanced from the Apostle by twen- 
ty centuries, we still have this Word of Prophecy*, 
a Word made sure UNTIL THE DAY DAWNS. 

We must not be shaken by the passing years. 

Mockers have arisen ! 

They jeer the promise of the Lord's return. 

We will not waver; these ungodly mockers have 
"a judgment from of old, that lingereth not and 
their condemnation slumbereth not." 

We will not waver ; we will "hold fast the CON- 
FESSION OF THE HOPE ;" we will "provoke one 
another to love and good works," we will "encour- 
age one another," and not forsake "the assembling 
of ourselves together," and SO MUCH MORE as 
we see the DAY APPROACHING. 

Having thus reviewed the certainty of the Pro- 
phetic Word, let us turn our attention to the text. 

Three things are before us. L This present dark- 
ness. 2. The Light that shines in the darkness. 
3. The dawning of the day. 

I. We have before us a picture of this present age 
—DARKNESS. 

The shades of evening fell at Calvary. Christ had 
come into the world as the Light of the world, and 



DAKKNESS— LAMP— DAWNING DAY 229 

as long as He was in the world, He was the Light 
of the world. 

The shades of evening fell at Calvary. "Men 
loved darkness rather than light." When Christ 
died, the sun went down behind the clouds of their 
rejection. 

Old Testament prophecy had prefigured this com- 
ing of the night time. Concerning the Passover 
lamb, commandment was given: *'Ye shall keep it 
up until the fourteenth day of the same month : and 
the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel 
shall kill it in the evening.'* 

When Christ gave up the ghost upon the Cross 
the evening had come. Not only the evening of the 
most tragical day of man's history, but the evening 
that marked the entrance into the night time of the 
world's rejection of Christ. 

In our time the night is far spent, but it is still 
night. The world has never had a change of heart 
concerning the exiling of Jesus Christ. He is still 
the "despised and rejected of men." The world does 
not desire Himi ; they will not have Him to reign 
over them. 

Of course this age is never called NIGHT, by the 
age itself. The dominant note of every great world 
chord is that this is the blazing noon hour of man's 
day. The sun of man's achievement has reached its 
zenith; the day is full-orbed and all glorious. 

We grant it — this is man's day. Paul wrote: "It 
is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, 
or of man's judgment.'* The Greek word translated 
"judgment" is "hemeras," "day"— man's "day." 

We grant it — this is man's day. On every hand 
we hear it. Every world orator is mouthing it. It 



230 PEOPHECY SEKMONS 

is the DAY of enlightenment; the DAY of inven- 
tions ; the DAY of commerce ; the DAY of the tele- 
phone ; the DAY of the telegraph ; the DAY of the 
wireless; the DAY of anesthetics and antiseptics; 
the DAY, the DAY, the DAY ! 

We grant it — this is man's day. But with God it 
is night. Man's achievements are but little "electric 
lights," bright indeed to men, but flickering candles 
with God. 

When the SUN appears in the East, and fills the 
whole heavens with its glory, how foolish are the 
man-made lights that illuminated in the night. 

When the SUN arises, the 'lights of the night,'' 
abashed, hide their faces; the glitter and the glare 
that marked their shining in the night, is gone — 
how insignificant they seem. 

When the SUN bursts forth in splendor, the 
night-lights seek for themselves the dens and the 
caves of the earth; they go into the clefts of the 
rocks and into the dismal darkness of the pit, for the 
fear of the SUN and for the glory of its majesty. 

It is night. The sun has gone down. Christ is 
exiled from the earth, exalted with the Father. 

First of all, the men of this age had candle lights ; 
then, the light of lamps; and then, electric lights: 
man's day has had increasing glory, but still it is 
night ; Christ is still away, an exile from the world, 
the crucified, the thorn-crowned, the despised of 
men. 

It is night. The first watch of the night has 
passed ; the second watch has passed ; the third 
watch has passed; the darkest hour of the night has 
come — the hour before the dawn. 

Men have their lights : the light of reason and 



DARKNESS— LAMP— DAWNING DAY 231 

research ; the light of attainment and achievement. 
The lights of men sparkle, they dazzle the eyes, 
(for they are lights near at hand); they make men 
think that DAY has come. 

But soon the SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS 
WILL RISE and then MAN'S DAY will haste 
away, and hide its face for shame. 

"For the DAY OF THE LORD of Hosts, shall 
be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon 
every one that is lifted up : and he shall be brought 
low." "And the haughtiness of men shall be made 
low : and the Lord shall be exalted in that day." 

In that day men will walk in THE LIGHT OF 
THE LORD, and they will cease from man, whose 
breath is in his nostrils, and they will cease from 
man's day. 

It is NIGHT. In token of that fact, the Lord 
has placed His SUPPER in the church. While that 
supper keeps in remembrance His body, broken for 
us, and His Blood, spilt for us; it also keeps in 
mind that Christ has gone away and it is night. 

It is NIGHT. This age is "this present evil age ;" 
its works are "the unfruitful works of darkness ;" its 
debauchery bespeaks the shadows that overhang it, 
"for they which are drunken, are drunken in the 
night." 

It is night. The apostasy has come: destruc- 
tive critics have arisen ; they are "wandering stars" 
who deny the Lordship of our Christ and who mock 
His blessed return. These stars flit across the sky, 
unorbed, unhelmed. The men of lower strata mar- 
vel at the glory of their glitter, as they wander on, 
until they pass out from this present night into a 



232 PEOPHECY SERMONS 

denser night — for unto them is "reserved the black- 
ness of darkness forever/' 

It is night. Immorality has come: Evil men and 
impostors are waxing w^orse and worse. With skel- 
eton form, bared from every vestige of moral dress, 
they, phantom like, are moving about the land, 
shrouding our homes and darkening our hopes. 

It is night. Perilous times have come: Men are 
lovers of themselves, boasters, proud. The rich 
have heaped up their treasures in these last days ; 
they have kept back the hire of those who reaped 
down their fields. The laborers have striven against 
the rich. No one knows what a day may bring forth. 
"Men's hearts are failing them for fear, and for the 
looking after of those things which are coming on 
the earth." It is night. 

The shadows are deepening. Seducing spirits and 
the doctrines of demons are accepted, in th^ land; 
spiritualism is stalking forth from its covert hid- 
ings, into the lime light of popular applause. Satan 
is preparing to work some startling signs and won- 
ders of falsehood, with all the deceivableness of un- 
righteousness upon those who perish. 

Soon we may have a scientifically assured and a 
positively demonstrated communication with the an- 
gelic peoples of the planet Mars — satan can arrange 
it so. 

Why not — are not great men, men of renown, sci- 
entifically establishing their contact with the de- 
parted dead? Are they not parading in public forum 
their certified claims? They are men of science and 
men of absolute world-integrity; they may be sin- 
cere, but they are deceived. Satan has arranged it 
so. 



DARKNESS— LAMP— DAWNING DAY 233 

The shadows are deepening. The church has 
placed her hand in the arm of the world; together 
they are walking down the way to death. A form 
of Godliness, lacking the power thereof, is every- 
where. Hypocrisy, worldliness and covetousness 
are heralded as white-robed songsters in the choir, 
or else they are enthroned and feasted in the official 
boards and places of honor in the house of God. 
Mammon rules the church. 

The shadows are deepening. Nations are truce- 
making and truce-breaking with remarkable ease; 
the clay of democracy has refused to mix with the 
iron of autocracy : Bolshevism is abroad in the land. 
Emerging from the greatest war of history, the na- 
tions themselves are trembling over the possibilities 
of the next great war. The volcano of national un- 
rest, with its seething inner upheaval of commercial 
preferment, had a terrific four-year eruption. The 
volcano now has quieted down, but who knows what 
a torrent of lava — what hellish fires it still may have 
in its hold. 

Leagues and world-diplomacy may seek to seal 
the crevice and to stay the next eruption, but when 
the lava of unrest, of sordid strife and of reeking 
revenge boils high enough, no power of man can 
stay its wrath. Sad world, another deluge of blood 
awaits thee. Armageddon lies ahead. 

II. WE HAVE BEFORE US THE LIGHT 
THAT SHINES MID THE DARKNESS. 

"We have also a more sure Word of Prophecy; 
whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a 
LIGHT THAT SHINETH IN A DARK PLACE, 
until the day dawn." 



234 PEOPHECY SERMONS 



"Thank God for the LIGHT— the light of proph- 
ecy." 

There are just three things we wish to emphasize 
about this light. 

1. It is a light that reveals the darkness. 

A minister who had been preaching world-peace 
in 1913 and 1914, went to his pulpit just after the 
last great war broke out, and sinking despondently 
into one of the pulpit chairs, he said something like 
this : **My brethren I am all undone ; my hopes are 
crushed; I cannot understand the meaning of this 
great catastrophe." 

Of course he could not understand, he had refused 
the light that revealed the coming of war. He was a 
Post-millenarian ; he was ignorant of the more sure 
Word of Prophecy. 

And shall there still come wars and famines and 
pestilences? Yes they will come. And, shall we 
despair? No, not at all. God's more sure Prophetic 
Word has forewarned us and we are prepared in 
mind and heart. 

Do capital and labor face one another with jealous 
envyings? Will the cry concerning wealth and 
wages never quiet down? Shall we despair? No, not 
at all. The Lamp of Prophecy revealed this very 
thing. 

Is there in the church a formal religion? Are men 
of the world often in charge of its affairs? Yes. 
Shall we despair? No, not at all. We knew that 
this would come to pass. 

To be forewarned is to be forearmed. The sweep 
of the apostasy, the federation of the church with 
the world, the fact that men are lovers of pleasure 



DARKNESS— LAMP— DAWNING DAY 235 

more than lovers of God, does not confound us. 
We knew it would be so, for it was prophesied. 

Some are tempted to doubt, or to despair as they 
see the seeming failure of the Church of Christ to 
solve the problems of the day. The Pre-millennial- 
ist neither despairs nor doubts ; he knew the Church 
was never destined of God to equalize wealth and 
wages, to solve the social unrest, or to make the 
world safe for democracy. 

God has given us a Prophetic Word which clearly 
outlines the condition of the last days. Our light 
is a revealing light. 

2. It is a light that shines in the darkness. 

Again we praise God for His grace. Wondrous 
thought. While all is darkness about us, we have 
a lighted pathway in w;hich we are permitted to 
walk. 

There was darkness upon the Egyptians, but light 
was with the children of Israel, 

God has vouchsafed to His own a lighted pathway, 
that shines brighter and brighter unto the perfect 
day. We are neither the children of the darkness, 
nor are we walking in the dark. We are children of 
light, children of the day. 

It is said that in the center of the great tornado 
there is a place of perfect calm. Whether this be 
true or not, there is in this age of restlessness, a 
place of rest; and, in this age of perfidy, a place of 
perfect trust to the children of God. Around us the 
tempests are raging, but we have quiet and repose. 

That wonderful 37th Psalm pictures the evil doers 
and the workers of iniquity and then it calls upon 
the saints of God to "Fret not," but to "trust in the 
Lord," and to "delight in the Lord," and to "commit 



236 PROPHECY SERMONS 

thy way unto the Lord," and to "rest in the Lord 
and wait patiently for Him/' 

Thus, mid the turmoil and the strife of last day 
scenes, those who know the Lord and who have the 
Lamp that illuminates the way, will possess a con- 
fidence and a quietness that will prove their 
strength. As they walk with Him through this 
"valley of the shadow of death*' they will "fear no 
evil," for in the presence of their enemies. He will 
prepare them a table ; and He will anoint their heads 
with the oil of holy gladness. 

3. It is a light that shines through the darkness 
until the dawning of the day. 

The Second Coming of Christ is the "Joy Note" 
of the Church. 

The Second Coming of Christ is the "Hallelujah 
Chorus" of the child of God. 

The Second Coming of Christ is the "Magnificat" 
of the travailing earth. 

He who would rob the Church of the Prophetic 
Word, would extinguish the one light that is shin- 
ing in the night. 

The poem, "The Lost Chord," describes a musi- 
cian as she sat at the great organ, and deftly ran her 
fingers over the keys. She struck a chord that — 

It flooded the crimson twilight, 

Like the close of an angel's Psalm, 
And it lay on my fevered spirit, 

With a touch of infinite calm; 
It quieted pain and sorrow, 

Like love overcoming strife; 
It seemed the harmonious echo 

From our discordant life; 
It linked all perplexed meanings 

Into one perfect peace, 
And trembled away into silence, 

As if it were loath to cease. 



DAEKNESS— LAMP— DAWNING DAY 237 

And then the chord was gone. The maiden 
sought once more to catch the wonderful music, but 
it was of no avail. 

Our Lord has given unto His Church such a 
chord — a chord that holds in it every possible en- 
couragement and comfort ; a chord that clarifies eve- 
ry perplexed problem. The Church has, to a great 
extent lost that chord, but needlessly lost it. It is 
the chord of prophecy, and it sounds forth the joyful 
strain of the Lord's soon return. 

Why should not we strike this chord? Why not 
preach this message of love, inspiration and com- 
fort? 

Miriam played and Moses and the children of 
Israel sang as they saw Pharaoh's army overthrown 
in the sea, and knew that God had given them a 
great deliverance. 

Why should the Church not sing in the anticipa- 
tion of promised victory? 

The Second Coming of Christ is the optimistic 
note of our Gospel. The saints were begotten again 
to a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ 
from the dead. That resurrection was the assur- 
ance of the future resurrection of saints ; it was also 
the supreme proof that Christ will judge this inhab- 
itable earth in righteousness. This was the Apos- 
tolic hope — it is also ours. Then let us rejoice. 

The Second Coming of Christ is the only note 
that brings a thrill of joy mid the trying times of 
the present day. It is the only light that shines 
through the darkness and reveals a better day. 

When the Holy Spirit wrote the 45th Psalm about 
Christ's coming and taking the Davidic throne ; He 
wrote as one playing on a lily trumpet, and He be- 



238 PEOPHECY SERMONS 

gan His words: "My heart is inditing (bubbling up) 
with a good matter, for I speak of the things I have 
made touching the King." 

When the Holy Spirit wrote of the Rapture of the 
saints, He speaks of the Coming as the "Blessed 
Hope and the glorious appearing/' Not one dole- 
ful chord, not one discordant note. It is all joy. 

When the Holy Spirit speaks of the revelation of 
Christ, as He comes in the clouds with His saints, 
He speaks of a coming in "power and great glory." 

Why then do men, who have denied prophecy, try 
to shame those who delight in prophecy? Why do 
they call Pre-millennialists pessimists ; why do they 
say that they "croak like frogs" and "smell of the 
swamps"? 

There is but one LIGHT that shines in this dark- 
ness; that is the "good matter*' about the King; it 
is the "Blessed Hope" of the Church ; it is the "great 
glory" of the revelation; there is but one chord of 
perfect peace, and that is the chord of Christ's Im- 
minent Return. 

What light has the Post-millennialist that will 
shine through the hour of this present darkness 
and reveal the perfect day? They are always boast- 
ing their optimism — what ground have they for their 
claims? To merely deny the darkness does not make 
it light. 

What light has the Post-millennialist? He thinks 
he has some wonderful lights; lights of his own 
fabrication ; lights that are set in most glittering 
lamp-stands — but what are their lights? 

We will deal kindly and mention their three chief 
fabrications, during the past five years. 



DARKNESS— LAMP— DAWNING DAY 239 

1. There was the light of "Peace, peace." Did 
you ever see it as they held it forth prior to the 
world war? Early in 1914, pulpit and press and 
platform was preaching peace. Man had evolved 
forever from the mire and mud of war-butchery; 
everything would forever be settled by diplomacy 
and peace courts. But their light went out — in fact 
it was burning too high, and it exploded with start- 
led suddenness. 

2. There was the light of "Making the world safe 
for democracy.'' This followed the war and was the 
chief thought of reconstructionists. The war after 
all, would make for world-brotherhood. It would 
bind all hearts in closer fellowship, and inaugurate 
an era of love and of the contagion of good. The 
war was, they said, fought out in behalf of lasting 
peace. 

War came, they say, winged with hatred and 
wrathful strife and with every blood-spilling device 
that genius could invent, in order that love might 
come, and that peace might come, and that brotherly 
kindness might come. 

And so it was that the light of "making the world 
safe for democracy" shone forth. But it soon began 
to flicker and it went out. The greatest deluge of 
blood curdling Bolshevism that has ever swept the 
land, came on and quenched the light. 

3. There is the light of a federated church move- 
ment. This is now the dominant thought of men. 
It is heralded as the greatest movement of the age. 

The "peace movement" was more political than 
religious ; the "making the world safe for democra- 
cy," was more human than Divine ; but this new 
movement is proposing to bring God in. It is a 



240 PKOPHECY SEEMONS 

movement that is pre-eminently religious. The 
other movements began with the world and sought 
the co-operation of the church; this latest device 
begins with the church and seeks the co-operation 
of the world. 

The newest "light" that men have devised is 
called, "The Interchurch World Movement." It 
has "lesser lights" revolving around it, such as the 
"New World Movement" of the Northern Baptist 
Convention. 

These movements backed by thousands of min- 
isters and men, by a marvelous network of machin- 
ery, and by fabulous' sums of money, propose to 
bring in a NEW WORLD and to inaugurate a 
NEW DAY. They prophesy that they will lighten 
the world with their glorious achievements, that 
darkness and distress must flee away. An era of 
the brotherhood of man will come, and righteous- 
ness and peace will kiss one another ; prosperity will 
reign. 

No more the curse, no more the shades of night — 
the new Movement will prove "Gilead's balm" to all 
earth's ills. 

This Interchurch World Movement is no child's 
play. It is encompassing sea and land, to gather in- 
to the net of its purposes and plans the whole of 
organized Christendom. Millions of dollars and 
millions of men are to be united in one supreme ef- 
fort to swing the whole world toward righteousness. 

This Interchurch World Movement is taking on 
great proportions. It is a tremendous struggle to 
place the church in the supremacy of world opera- 
tions ; it is the world's supreme effort toward feder- 
ation and unification. 



DARKNESS— LAMP— DAWNING DAY 241 

This Interchurch World Movement is a dream of 
spiritually untaught minds ; it is possessed of a zeal, 
foreign to knowledge; it is counting man in and 
leaving God out ; it is "soulish," having not the Spir- 
it. 

God has said: *'Woe to them who go down to 
Egypt for help ;'* yet, this Interchurch Movement is 
"placing its stay upon horses, and trusting in char- 
iots, because they are many, and in horsemen be- 
cause they are strong." That is, the Movement is 
turning everywhere toward worldly church-men and 
worldly world-men for help. World-men and world- 
organizations, present "strong towers'' to this New 
World Movement. 

God has said: — "Cease ye from man^ whose 
breath is in his nostrils ; for wherein is he accounted 
of?" Yet, this Interchurch Movement is leaning on 
the arm of the flesh. It is calling to its aid all the 
ecclesiastics of Protestantism who will wear its 
robes. It is making a strong appeal for the support 
of unsaved men, both churched and unchurched. 
Will satan be constrained to war against himself? 
Why then this mixing and mingling of saints and 
sinners, in the supposed greatest task ever under- 
taken by the church of Christ? 

God has said : "What fellowship hath light with 
darkness, and what part hath he that believeth with 
an unbeliever?" But, this Interchurch World 
Movement is calling those of many cults and creeds, 
of all manner of faiths and even those of no faith to 
join hands and walk together. 

This lamp must soon go out. It cannot lighten 
our pathway 'mid the gathering gloom. Oh. how 
miserable and poor and blind and naked is this In- 



242 PROPHECY SERMONS 

terchurch World Movement. With all its increase 
of goods and riches it must fail, for Christ stands 
without its door. He is the same despised and re- 
jected One. 

There is nothing, not even the Interchurch World 
Movement, that can stay the hand of coming judg- 
ments. The day of wrath is near. It is the time of 
Jacob's trouble. Soon the Lord will catch His own 
from the scene and then will He pour forth the vials 
of His wrath on a Christless world. 

This latest light must die away. Men cannot off- 
set the sure Word of Prophecy concerning this age, 
and man cannot upset God's purpose in the corona- 
tion of His Son. The age is hastening on in its cor- 
ruption to certain judgment, and God is hastening 
on in His purpose to bring again the First-born 
into this habitable earth. 

THERE IS BUT ONE LIGHT that shines stead- 
ily and unflickeringly and which will shine until the 
day dawn, and the day star arises in our hearts. 

That one light is the Word of Prophecy concern- 
ing the Day of the Lord. Why, then, do these 
world-centered men of the church insist on blowing 
out this light? 

In their church schools and colleges; in their re- 
ligious press ; in their formulated creeds and in their 
pulpits they have no place for the Word of Proph- 
ecy unto the which God says, "Ye do well that ye 
take heed.'* 

Why do these churchly world-men insist that the 
One Who is holding forth this Word of Life and 
Light and Hope is untutored and untaught ; a fossil 
and a relic of Apostolic days? 



DARKNESS— LAMP— DAWNING DAY 243 

Did not God give the more sure Word of Proph- 
ecy? 

Did not God give the Book of the Revelation, un- 
to Christ ; did not Christ deliver it to John through 
His angel; did not John record what things soever 
he saw; and, did not the Holy Spirit say: ^'Blessed 
is he that readeth, and they w^ho hear the w^ords of 
the Book of this Prophecy and keep the things'' ? 
Then why not let the light shine forth? 

Did not the Spirit tell us, through Paul, concern- 
ing the Coming of Christ, and then add the word : 
"These things teach and exhort, let no man despise 
thee''? Then w^hy put out the light? 

III. WE HAVE BEFORE US THE DAWNING 
OF ANOTHER DAY. 

The Second Coming of Christ is to the Church 
in its rapture the "Bright and the Morning Star;" 
but to Israel it is the "Sun of Righteousness rising 
with healing in His wings." 

When Christ comes for the Church it will be very 
dark, just before the dawn, but when Christ returns 
with the Church unto the Mount of Olives, the Day 
of the Lord will have been fully brought in. 

Just as the Sun in its rising licks up the mists and 
the miasma of the low lands, just so shall the Lord's 
coming remove the sway of darkness and despair 
that has fallen during the night of man's reign. 

L The Day of the Lord will be ushered in with 
terrific judgments. These judgments will be upon 
everything that man, in boasted pride and God-for- 
getfulness, has done. 

"For the Day of the Lord of Hosts shall be upon 
every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every 



244 PEOPHECY SEEMONS 

one that is lifted up ; and he shall be brought low ; 
* * and the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, 
and the haughtiness of men shall be made low : and 
the Lord alone shall be exalted on that day" (Is. 
2:12, 17). 

When the Lord comes as King, He will ride 
"prosperously because of truth and meekness and 
righteousness :'' His hands will teach Him ''ter- 
rible things :" His "arrows'* will be "sharp in the 
heart of the King's enemies; whereby the peoples 
fall under thee/' 



THE PLACE OF PROPHECY IN 
PRACTICAL CHRISTIANITY 



THE PLACE OF PROPHECY IN PRACTICAL 
CHRISTIANITY 

The sermon preached by R. E. Neighbour, Wednesday 
Night, at the Michigan Baptist Prophetic Bible Conference, 
held with Wealthy Street Baptist Church, Grand Rapids, 
Michigan. 

There are three chief allegations stressed against 
prophecy and Pre-millennialism. 

1. It is claimed that prophecy produces star-gaz- 
ers, and fails in practical piety in daily living. 

2. It is claimed that prophecy gives rise to vaga- 
ries, and fanciful fads in doctrines, and does not sus- 
tain the great fundamentals of the faith. 

3. It is claimed that prophecy cuts the nerve of 
missions and is enervating in the field of evangelism. 

If these thrusts are true, prophecy stands con- 
derfined and should at once be relegated to the scrap 
pile of decadent dogmas. 

If, however, as we shall see to-night, these thrusts 
are false, both to the history of Pre-millennialism, 
and to the Word of God, then some one needs to 
retract their statements or else they will stand con- 
demned before God and man. 

On the other hand, if prophecy is continually call- 
ing saints to a life of separation, and practical piety ; 
and if Pre-millennialism is ever fostering the great 
fundamentals of the faith in Christ; and, if the 
Blessed Hope is producing the greatest missionary 
and evangelistic activity of the age, then prophecy 
should be pressed and preached and placed in the 
lime light of our Christian consciousness. 



248 PEOPHECY SEEMONS 

We propose now to take up the allegations against 
prophecy and Pre-millennial teaching, one at a time, 
and thoroughly investigate each one. 

In doing this, we could make our chief appeal to 
the actual history of the men, the churches and the 
missionary movements which have unflinchingly 
stood for the imminent return of our Lord ; but this 
we will not do. 

We prefer to let the Bible speak. Let us see what 
God has said about this very thing. When this is 
done, each one may lay the facts of the history of 
the church of to-day, by the side of what God says, 
and draw their own conclusions. 

In entering upon our theme, we would particular- 
ly mention that our key text, bears out, in the life 
of Paul, the very opposite of the threefold allega- 
tions against prophecy and Pre-millennialism. Paul 
was pre-eminently a believer in and a preacher of 
the Blessed Hope of the Lord's Return, and yet: — 

Paul said: "I have fought a good fight;" these 
words present a practical piety that never wavered. 

Paul said: "I have kept the faith;" there is, 
in this, no belittling of the great fundamental doc- 
trines of grace — no one would accuse Paul on that 
line. 

Paul said : "I have finished my course," and that 
course was filled with a missionary zeal and an evan- 
gelistic fervor that outranks most of us, to-day. 

What was true of Paul, is true of those who stand 
with Paul for prophecy and the Second Coming of 
Christ. 

Let us now take up our theme and carefully con- 
sider the allegations against prophecy. 



PLACE of PROPHECY in PRACTICAL CHRISTIANITY 249 

I. THE CHARGE IS MADE THAT PROPHECY 
AND FAITH IN THE PRE-MILLENNIAL 
AND IMMINENT COMING OF CHRIST, 
FAILS IN PRACTICAL PIETY IN DAILY 
LIFE. 

The Bible claims that when the hope of the Lord's 
return grips the life, it produces purity. "He that 
hath this hope in Him, purifieth himself even as He 
is pure" (I John 3:3), The preceding verse is dis- 
cussing the Lord's coming — "When He shall appear, 
we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." 

The Bible is right. No doctrine is more effective 
in calling the Church to purity of life than the doc- 
trine of the Lord's imminent return. 

Hear the Word of God : "Behold I come as a thief. 
Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his gar- 
ments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame" 
(Rev, 16:15), 

How blessedly clean does the watching and the 
waiting and the looking and the loving and the antic- 
ipation of the coming of Christ cause one to keep his 
garments. 

Hear the Word of God : "And now, little children, 
abide in Him ; that when He shall appear, we may 
have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at 
His coming" (I John 2:28), 

How we seek to keep close to our Lord when we 
anticipate His return. When Pre-millennialism is 
more than skin deep, it certainly produces practical 
piety. 

Pre-millennialists are not movie fans, nor theater 
goers, nor card club devotees, nor fancy dance art- 
ists. 



250 PKOPHECY SERMONS 

Hear the Word of the Lord: "When Christ Who 
IS our Life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear 
with Him in glory. Mortify, therefore, your mem- 
bers which are upon the earth ; fornication, unclean- 
ness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence and 
covetousness, which is idolatry" (Col. 3:4,5). 

It is true. The Blessed Hope is a sanctifying doc- 
trine. Stirred by the thought of Christ's return, 
Paul desired to present his converts perfect in Christ 
Jesus. ''I pray God that your whole spirit and soul 
and body be preserved blameless unto the coming 
of the Lord Jesus Christ" (I Thess, 5:23), 

It is true. Seeing that we look for all these things 
to come to pass, "what manner of men ought we to 
be in all holy conversation and Godliness." 

It is true. We should, denying ungodliness and 
worldly lusts, live "soberly and righteously and God- 
ly, in this present world, looking for that Blessed 
Hope and the glorious appearing of the great God, 
and our Saviour Jesus Christ." 

Enoch prophesied: "Behold the Lord cometh with 
ten thousands of His saints," and "Enoch walked 
with God, and he was not for God took him." 

When Elisha knew that his master, Elijah, was to 
be taken from him, he followed close by his side. 
When we know that we may, at any moment, be 
taken to meet Him, we will walk close by His side. 

We grant it. There is a tremendous backsliding 
in the churches. To-day it is, with difficulty, that 
one can tell whether it is a worldly church or simply 
a churchly world. They all do the same thing ; they 
go to the same functions ; they follow the same lust 
for gold. 

We affirm it. There is no appreciable diflference 



PLACE of PEOPHECY in PEACTTICAL CHRISTIANITY 251 

between the church and the world. The church has 
said : **I am rich and increased with goods and have 
need of nothing," while she knows not that she is 
"miserable and poor and blind and naked." 

We deny it. This condition is not due to proph- 
ecy and Pre-millennialism. 

It is a church that has lost the Blessed Hope that 
has wandered from her Lord. 

It is a church that has said, "He is not coming 
back again," that has entered forbidden paths. 

It is a church that has turned away from the 
Lord's return, and turned aside unto fables that has 
revolted, that has played the harlot, and gone. 

It is practical piety to attend faithfully upon the 
house of God. And the Scriptures say: "Not for- 
saking the assembling of yourselves together, as the 
manner of some is, and so much the more, as ye see 
the day approaching." The verse preceding the one 
above, says : "Let us hold fast the confession of our 
HOPE without wavering." So the coming of the 
Lord is in question. 

It is practical piety to be patient and calm 'mid 
the drift of the last days. Yet it is the thought of 
Christ's return that stills the heart. "For ye have 
need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of 
God, ye should receive the promise. For yet a lit- 
tle while, and He that shall come will come, and will 
not tarry." 

"Impatient heart, be still, 
What though He tarry long, 
What though the triumph song, 
Is long delayed? 
You have His promise sure, 
And that is all secure, 
Impatient heart be still." 



252 PROPHECY SERMONS 

The first allegation against prophecy is proved 
false. The Hope of the Coming does not produce 
saints lax in practical piety. 

II. THE CHARGE IS MADE THAT PROPH- 
ECY PRODUCES VAGARIES AND FANCI- 
FUL FADS. WE REPLY THAT PROPHECY 
PRODUCES SAINTS SOUND AND SANE 
AND ESTABLISHED IN THE GREAT FUN- 
DAMENTALS OF THE FAITH. 

Whatever else may be said, friend and foe alike 
admit that Pre-millennialism is builded upon a lit- 
eral interpretation of the Word of God. 

We go a step further. We insist that Pre-millen- 
nialism demands a basic faith in all great Bible doc- 
trines. 

Where is the preacher that does not know that 
the doctrines of the atonement, and of justification, 
and of propitiation, and of the forgiveness of sins, 
and of substitution are based upon a literal inter- 
pretation of Scripture? Of course they are. 

Who would deny that the orthodox teaching con- 
cerning a literal resurrection, and a literal ascension 
and a literal seating at God's right hand, is based 
upon a literal interpretation of the Word? 

Where is he who doubts that the teaching of the 
Church concerning the Holy Spirit: His descent; 
His indwelling; His enduement; is all based upon 
a literal interpretation of Holy Writ? 

The Pre-millennialist only follows the same meth- 
od of literal exegesis in interpreting prophecy. 

The orthodox Post-millennialist accepts the proph- 
ecies of Christ's first coming as literal ; he accepts 
the prophecy of the **Virgin and her Seed" as literal, 



PLACE of PEOPHECY in PRACTICAL CHRLSTIANITY 253 

and proclaims Christ as begotten of the Holy Ghost. 

The Pre-millennialist (we do not need to say the 
orthodox Pre, for all of them are orthodox) accepts 
the same method of interpretation as to the proph- 
ecies of Christ's Second Coming. 

A prominent higher critic has written contend- 
ing that there is a great wave of Pre-millennialism 
sweeping over the land, due to the literal interpre- 
tation of the Bible. 

This same critic asserts that Post-millennialism 
is driven, by necessity, to choose between two issues 
— either they must give up their **decadent theolog- 
ical conceptions of the atonement, built upon a lit- 
eralizing of the Scriptures, and enter the ranks of 
intellectual criticism ; or else they must succumb to 
the claims of Pre-millennialism and accept the liter- 
al return of Christ to take the Davidic throne. 

This is the convincing conclusion of a critic. 

If the Second Coming is to be spiritualized, why 
not the First Coming? 

If the Lord is not to sit on a literal throne, and 
reign over the house of David; why insist that He 
died upon a literal cross (save that the cross is a 
matter of history) and that He literally **bore the 
sins of many"? 

In Luke 1 :33, we read of the angeFs visit to Mary 
and how he said to her : "Thou shalt conceive * * 
and bring forth a Son * * and He shall be called the 
Son of the Highest." 

The orthodox Post-millennialist believes in the 
Deity of Christ and in the Virgin Birth — that is, 
he accepts the first part of the verse literally. 

But Luke 1 :33 continues : "And the Lord God 
shall give unto Him the throne of His father David." 



254 PEOPHECY SEEMONS 

How can the Post-millennialist accept as literal 
the first.half of the verse, and spiritualize the latter 
half? 

If the Post is led, by his faith in the inerrancy of 
the Word of God, to accept the literalness of the 
Virgin Birth ; he is forced to accept the literalness 
of the Davidic throne. 

If the Post is going to spiritualize Christ's literal 
seat upon the Davidic throne; he must spiritualize 
Christ's being born of a Virgin. 

A destructive drift from the faith has come in 
the world. Men are swerving from the faith with 
rapid strides. A cleavage is certain. There will soon 
be, we predict, but two great and dominating 
schools; the one made up of those who deny the 
verbal inspiration of the Word altogether, the other 
of those who accept it altogether. 

The Post-millennialism of the day is bound to 
disintegrate. It cannot outlive the sweep of the lib- 
eral school. 

Post-millennialism will be rent in twain upon the 
rock of the impregnable Scriptures. 

Post-millennialism must choose between two opin- 
ions. 

Among Post-millenarians there are many, many 
thousands who believe in the Book of books; they 
believe in the Virgin Birth ; in the Cross ; in salva- 
tion by grace alone — all of these MUST accept the 
Pre-millennialism position : that is, the literal inter- 
pretation of the Prophetic Word. 

Among Post-millenarians there are many, many 
thousands who are drifting away from the faith: 
they are applying their method of the interpretation 
of prophecy, to their interpretation of other great 



PLACE of PEOPHECY in PEACTICAL CHRISTIANITY 255 

basic doctrines of the Word ; and these MUST drift 
into liberalism and destructive criticism. 

If the Lord tarry much longer, there can be but 
two great schools. 

The higher critics themselves are forcing the is- 
sue. 

Pre-millennialists are forcing the issue. 

The Post-millenarian cannot long sit on the fence, 
and agree with the critic in spiritualizing the Sec- 
ond Coming; and agree with the Pre-millennialist 
in accepting the literalness of the First Coming. 

The Post-millennialist must get oflF on one side of 
the fence or on the other. He must go all of the 
way with God and the Truth ; or else he must go all 
of the way with those who deny God and the Truth. 

The position of the Post-millennialist is absolute- 
ly untenable. 

This is the reason that our schools and colleges 
are being filled with liberal theologians who are 
bringing in damnable sects ; and many are following 
their pernicious ways. 

This is the reason that our pulpits are becoming 
more and more the platform of destructive denials. 
They are turning aside to fables, and the people 
love to have it so. 

Post-millennialism must choose between the two. 
They must either go with the critics or else they 
must accept the more sure Word of Prophecy. 

And one with open eyes can see the coming cleav- 
age. 

Among the Baptists of the North there is a tre- 
mendous, under surface, surging. 

Men who deny the very fundamentals of the faith, 
for which our fathers died, are spots in our feasts 



256 PKOPHECY SEEMONS 

of love. They have crept in unawares; they are 
suavely, but surely putting their hands on the wheel 
that directs the policies of church life. 

Men who believe in the Coming of the Lord, and 
who are standing by the Book, from cover to cover, 
are positively refusing to follow the leadership of 
such critics. They cannot and they will not have 
fellowship with them in the Church of Christ. These 
Pre-millennial Baptists are rising everywhere in sol- 
emn protest. Without any organization or author- 
ized leader, they are about to break the union, and 
disrupt denominational fellowship. 

The Post-millennialists stand in the middle of the 
road and ponder the situation. 

They know that something is about to happen. 
At first they would call the Pre-millennial Baptists 
trouble makers, and dividers, and stampeders. 

Then, they turn their eyes and behold the critics, 
and see their growing prominence in their great 
gatherings, and they know that the core of the 
trouble is there. 

A cleavage is certain between the Pre-millenarian 
and the higher critic. 

The Post MUST either become engulfed with De- 
structive Criticism, or else go all the way in the 
acceptance of the Word of God, and stand with the 
minority who accept literally the Prophetic Scrip- 
tures, as they accept the other Scriptures. 

The time has come for all believers to turn aside 
from vagaries and fanciful fads, and to rally to the 
true teachings of the Word. 

We need a faith unfeigned. 

The Church is the pillar and ground of the Truth. 

We must refuse profane and old wives' fables. 



PLACE of PROPHECY in PRACTICAL CHRISTIANITY 257 

We must give no heed to fables and endless ge- 
nealogies. 

Many are turning aside to vain jangling. 

Concerning the faith, they have made shipwreck. 
The doctrines of demons are in the air. 

Men are turning aside to Satan, they have 
swerved from the faith. 

There are many oppositions of knowledge, false- 
ly so called. 

These profane and vain babblings are increasing, 
more and more; they are eating as doth a gan- 
grene; they are producing men reprobate concern- 
ing the faith, who resist the Truth ; men with itch- 
ing ears, who will not endure wholesome doctrine. 

Pre-millenarians must not be ashamed of their 
testimony concerning the Blessed Hope, they must 
teach and exhort with all longsuffering and doc- 
trine; they must let no man despise them. 

Pre-millenarians must labor in the Word and in 
doctrine; they must hold forth the saving Word of 
life, and the Prophetic Word of light; they must 
hold fast the form of sound words, and contend for 
the faith once for all delivered to the saints. 

The charge that prophecy produces vagaries and 
fanciful fads in doctrine is utterly false. 

The great doctrines of the Word, are indissolubly 
linked to the Second Coming of Christ. 

The Virgin Birth, the sacrificial work of the Cross, 
the Lord's Supper, baptism, the resurrection of 
Christ, the ascension, the superiority of Christ to 
angels, satan's final overthrow, the plenary inspira- 
tion of the Scriptures — all are indissolubly linked 
to the Second Coming of Christ. 



258 PROPHECY SERMONS 

Pre-millennialism is born of the literal acceptance 
of plain and positive Scriptures. 

Pre-millennialism is not a matter of "interpreta- 
tion'* of Scripture, but of faith in Scripture. 

Parables and Scriptural figures of speech, and em- 
blematic sacrifices and feasts, and the typical lives 
of Old Testament saints, all need an interpretation : 
but a plain, positive Scripture needs no interpreta- 
tion ; it simply needs to be believed. 

The personal, corporeal, literal, visible^ sudden 
Coming of Christ is not a matter of interpretation. 
It is substantiated by plain, positive Scriptures. 

The coming of Christ in the air for His Church ; 
the coming of Christ v^ith His saints to the Mount 
of Olives ; the taking of the Davidic throne ; the reign 
for a thousand years, are not established by any sys- 
tem of interpretation, they are substantiated by plain 
positive Scriptures, that need no interpretation. 

To spiritualize the Scripture is to annihilate the 
Scripture. 

If the Bible, speaking of substitution, says, "Christ 
bore our sins in His own body on the tree,'' and if 
some one says, that that means, that "Christ died a 
martyr to a lofty ideal," then that some one makes 
void the Word of God. 

If the Bible, speaking of Christ, says : "The Lord 
God w^ill give unto Him the throne of His father 
David," and some one says that that means, that 
"Christ is now sitting on David's throne in Heaven," 
then that some one makes void the Word of God. 

Whatever else may be said — prophecy produces 
men who are sound and sane in Scriptural doctrine. 



PLACE of PEOPHECY in PRACTICAL CHRISTIANITY 259 

III. THE CHARGE IS MADE THAT PROPH- 
ECY CUTS THE NERVE OF MISSIONS AND 
PRODUCES SLUGGARDS IN EVANGELISM 
AND IN CHRISTIAN SERVICE. 

To the Word and to the testimony. If the charge 
is not according to God's Word there is no truth in 
it whatsoever. 

When the ten pounds were given to the servants 
of the nobleman, and they were told to trade, or to 
occupy; what was the incentive to their faithful 
serving? It was the return of the nobleman and the 
rewarding of the servants. 

When the admonition was given by the Holy Spir- 
it: "Wherefore be steadfast, unmovable, always 
abounding in the work of the Lord;*' where was the 
admonition placed, and to what does the "there- 
fore" link us? The words follow the chapter of the 
"resurrection of those in Christ," and the "therefore" 
links us with the mystery of the raptured saints. 

When the age mission of the Church is outlined in 
Acts 15, by the Apostle Peter, and corroborated 
by James, what is the central plea? "After this 
will I return." 

How long is the Church to show forth the Lord's 
death as they sit at His table? "Till I come," is 
the Divine response. 

What is the call to faithfulness in shepherdizing 
the flock of God? The answer is certain: "And 
when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall re- 
ceive a crown of glory." 

What is a chief incentive to working for Christ: 
"Behold I come quickly and My reward is with Me." 

Paul was inspired in his work of soul winning, 
because he knew that his converts would be "his 



260 PKOPHECY SEEMONS 

joy and crown of rejoicing at the Coming of the 
Lord." 

Let us lift up our eyes and see what the Blessed 
Hope has done for our own local church? Has it 
cut the nerve of missions ? We are supporting four 
American missionaries on the foreign field, two in 
Africa and two in India, and practically supplying 
the needs of another missionary; besides the sup- 
porting of three native missionaries. 

Has the Second Coming of Christ cut the nerve 
in the missionary activity of the China Inland Mis- 
sion? Of the Christian and Missionary Alliance? 
Of the South African General Mission? Of the Su- 
dan General Mission? Of the India Ceylon General 
Mission? 

No more has the Second Coming of Christ cut the 
nerve in soul-winning and personal work in the 
home land. 

Paul anticipated the Lord's return. Who ever 
became "all things to all men'' with greater zest than 
Paul? Who ever suffered more and served bet- 
ter than he? 

Let me ask if the majority of our greatest soul- 
winners and evangelists are not ardent proclaimers 
of the Lord's return? 

May we pause to consider the words of three men 
of God who have been recognized as peers in service. 

D. L. Moody said : *'I know of no better way to 
wake the church up than to get the church to look 
for the Second Coming of the Lord. I have come to 
work three times as hard, ever since I came to un- 
derstand that my Lord was coming back again." 

Geo. Mueller said : "When it pleased God in July, 
1829 to open my heart to the personal return of the 



PLACE of PEOPHECY iu PEACTICAL CHRISTIANITY 261 

Lord Jesus, and to show me that I made a great 
mistake in looking for the conversion of the world, 
the effect that it produced upon me was this : From 
my inmost soul I was made to feel a compassion for 
perishing sinners, and for the unbelieving world 
around me, lying in the wicked one." 

D. W. Whittle said : "There is no truth, accord- 
ing to my observation, that has so stimulated men to 
consecration and work for Christ, as the truth of the 
Scriptures concerning the personal coming of the 
Lord Jesus. There is nothing that has so blessed me 
as this truth.'' 

Certainly the charge that prophecy cuts the nerve 
of missions and of evangelism cannot be sustained. 

But what of Post-millennialism? Has it cut the 
nerve of missions and soul-winning service? 

We would give honor to whom honor is due. 

Post-millennialism, wherein it has remained true 
to the fundamental doctrines of salvation, has ac- 
complished many worthy works in leading the lost 
to Christ, both at home and abroad. 

There is, however, to our mind one very dark spot 
in connection with the service of Post-millennialism. 

Of course the ideal of Post teaching and of Post 
service is the establishment of the kingdom on earth, 
apart from the coming of the King. 

This idealism has led the Post-millenarian to adopt 
many schemes of service aside from the preaching of 
the Gospel of Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Social service, with its varied methods for im- 
provement; the idea of community salvation; the 
making of the world safe for democracy ; the estab- 
Hshment of a civiHzation, Christian in spirit and in 



262 PEOPHEGY SEEMONS 

passion — all of this is the outgrowth of Post-millen- 
nialism. 

Twenty centuries of preaching the Cross, has 
proved too slow a method of taking the world for 
Christ; something new and novel must be tried; the 
world task is great, and the message and the method 
of the fathers has accomplished too little ; therefore 
Post-millennialisn> has been seeking for an altered 
service. 

The true church and the true minister is separated 
unto the *'Gospel of God, concerning His Son ;" but 
Post-millennialism has called us to another gospel. 

The sad feature of this other gospel, this social 
gospel, is that it is not only taking much money and 
time away from the "Gospel of God," but it is also 
linking the church up with the world in a righteous- 
ness that is absolutely foreign to the "righteousness 
which is by faith.'' 

The Pre accepts the Bible teaching concerning 
the condition of the last days; he sees the useless- 
ness and unscripturalness of reform and gives him- 
self to pressing the claims of the righteousness by 
faith, made possible by the Cross of Christ ; instead 
of seeking to save this untoward generation, he is 
calling men to save themselves from it. 

The Pre is naturally aggressive in Scriptural mis- 
sions and evangelism not only because he is pressed 
on in his work by the thought of the soon coming 
of his Lord, but because he side-steps the many and 
varied calls for social preaching and reform propa- 
ganda and gives himself exclusively to soul-winning 
and to building up saints in the faith. 

The minister, of to-day, is literally overwhelmed 
by requests for "special days'* and "special messag- 



PLACE of PEOPHECY in PRACTICAL CHRISTIANITY 263 

es'' on a score of different themes, all of which are 
distinct from "preaching Christ," These "specials" 
are the product of Post-millennialism and its un- 
scriptural effort to bring in the Kingdom. 

When the truths of the Prophetic Word, and the 
Blessed Hope of the Lord's Return really grip the 
heart, the result is a wonderful quickening in all 
missionary and evangelistic activity. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




014 241 566 5 



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